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Investigators Probe Nairobi Mall Attack, Kenya Mourns


Kenyan troops and forensic experts are searching for more bodies at Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, where a four-day siege by militants left more than 65 people dead.

Searchers are wearing face masks to ward off the stench as they examine the wreckage of the partially collapsed mall. Military forces, meanwhile, are looking for booby traps or any militants who may remain in hiding.

The Kenyan Red Cross said Wednesday that more than 70 people are still missing.

The al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab says it was behind the attack at Westgate, a large, upscale shopping center popular with foreigners, tourists and wealthy Kenyans.

In a Wednesday briefing, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku appealed for patience as authorities try to determine the identities of the attackers. He said forensic experts from the U.S., Britain, Israel, Germany, Canada and Interpol have joined the investigation.

Flags are flying at half staff across Kenya after President Uhuru Kenyatta declared three days of mourning for the 67 civilians and security officers killed in the attack. The victims of the attack hailed from more than 10 countries. At least five militants were also killed.

President Kenyatta called a special meeting Wednesday of his National Security Council to discuss counterterrorism strategy.

Mr. Kenyatta said 11 militants are in custody. He said the attackers were shamed and defeated, calling them "cowards" who will face justice.





"Our head is bloodied but unbowed. The criminals found us unafraid as we shall ever be. We cannot be conquered."



Britain's Foreign Office said Wednesday a British national was arrested in Nairobi following the siege, but provided no details.

Al-Shabab is demanding that Kenyan troops leave Somalia -- a demand Kenya refuses. Kenyan forces entered neighboring Somalia two years ago to help fight al-Shabab, which has been fighting to turn Somalia into a conservative Islamic state.

The dead include nationals from Britain, Canada, China, France, Ghana, India and South Korea.

Among those killed was Kofi Awoonor, a prominent Ghanaian poet who had traveled to Nairobi to attend a literary festival.
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