kenyan officials believe that 10 to 15 al-shabab attackers are barricaded in the shopping mall. the assault began several hours ago. the authorities say they're going slowly through the building. they want to try to save as men lives as possible. there are an unknown number of f hostaged believed to be held, anywhere from 20 to 50 to 100 possible hostages are believed to be in there. it started 24 hours when al-shabab gunmen stormed the shopping mall with ak-47s and grenades. they were firing rifles into public areas, even telling nonmuslims and westerners to stay while allowing muslims to leave the area. it's clear they were targeting westerners, and muslim -- and nonmuslims and christians. the death toll so far has been rising steadily. tonight the latest number is 68. but kenyan authorities say this might actually increase because there is the fear that before this assault is over, the gunmen may actually start executing their hostages. >> we're also getting a better idea how crowded that mall was. i understand the kenyans are getting extra help for the operation. >> there ar

kenyan officials believe the attackers include two or three americans and perhaps a british woman in the group, as well. the attack has been playing out in realtime on twitter, as well. members of the militant group al-shabab tweeted westgate a 14- hour standoff related 1400 rounds of bullets and 140 characters of vengeance and still ongoing. good morning, kenya. later a tweet read more than 30 hours have now passed and like rabbits caught in the headlights kenyans are still shellshocked. twitter has since shut those pages down. >>> happening today, president obama will speak at the united nations. but it may be an unspoken gesture that will get the most attention. president obama may shake hands with the president of iran. vinita nair tells us what this could mean. >>> reporter: president obama will address the world this morning at the opening of the u.n.'s general assembly meeting. but it's the possibility of a more intimate talk that is drawing the most attention. iranian president hassan rouhani could meet face to face with president obama today. if it happens, it would be the f

. >> reporter: kenyan officials believe 10 to 15 hackers are inside. though no one knows how many innocent civilians are being held. more than 1,000 people have escaped from the upscale and popular shopping mall including some earlier this morning. but 24 hours after the gunmen stormed the mall with ak47s and grenades there's still a confused and chaotic scene. witnesses say the attackers were targeting nonmuslims. >> the attackers said, if you are muslim, get up and go. >> you could hear them talking to people, asking questions. shooting. screams and then it would stop for a while then he would go to another store. >> reporter: israel has sent a special team to niarobi to help stop the stand off. >> reporter: the death toll continues to increase and kenyan officials say it may jump further if the gunmen start killing their captives. conner powell, fox news. >>> one of those that escaped is ellane zang who posted this photo of herself who posted this picture of her getting -- of herself getting treatment for facial cuts. >>> the death toll has risen to

do kenyan officials believe they know where the terrorists are or on which floor or which store or not? >> we can't say what's going on inside this building. we can hear the stuff that's happening from outside. the rest of the information is coming frommal hah baccome -- im al-shabab. the kenyan forces say they have control over every floor of the building. there are areas where the terrorists are able to move around. exactly what's going on inside we can't say. bill: what about the reports if you were a muslim you were allowed to leave the mall. if you were not a muslim you were shot and killed. >> we heard stories from some of the people inside the mall to begin with and were able to escape. don't forget this did happen saturday afternoon. the mall was packed. thousands of people -- more than a thousand people were able to get away. some had been hit and a number taken hostage. we understand the gunmen were demanding that people reveal information about whether or in the they are muslim. if they said they were they with have to pass a test. they might be asked what is the name of the

. >> but a senior kenyan official says a woman was there and kenyan leaders clearly believe she has hadborn in buckinghamshire, england, she had by all accounts a normal, even innocent upbringing. as a teenager she married jermaine lindsey. she was pregnant when he blew himself up in the london bus and train attacks that killed more than 50 people. it's not clear if that event radicalized her. she initially condemned those bombings. >> subsequently, she's thought to have traveled to east africa and connected with militants linked to the group al shabaab. >> authorities say she was raised money and run logistics for terrorist cells. she has always been elusive, known to travel on a fake south african passport under the name natalie webb. in 2011, kenyan authorities raided three homes in mumbasa, including one allegedly used by her. there, they found similar bomb making materials to those used in the london bombings. they arrested people for plotting to bomb tourist areas but were too late to catch her. do those pieces add up to her potential involvement in the westgate mall attack with a

on tuesday, a kenyan official say they believed there was a woman involved in the attack, but the nextd that they can't say much about who the woman was or what she might have been doing in the mall attack. so they're really hedging as to whether this woman was involved in the mall attack or not. what we can tell you is her name is samantha. she's 29 years old, born in england. she was married to a man named jermaine lindsay. he was one of the bombers who blew himself up in the 2005 london subway bombing attacks. and after that, she vanished and then reemerged in kenya with a cell that was linked to al shabaab. that's one of the reasons she may be linked to the attack in the mall in kenya. she's well known as the so-called white widow among jihadist circles. so a lot of interest in her, wolf, and this red notice has just gone out a couple hours ago. we'll have more about her later on in "the situation room." >> we'll look forward to that, brian. brian todd reporting for us, thank you. >>> there are still tens of thousands of american troops on the ground right now in afghanistan, and a

. >> reporter: but a senior kenyan official says a woman was there. and kenyan leaders clearly believetha lewthwaite has bad intentions. she was born in england and had by all accounts a normal, even innocent upbringing. as a teenager she married germane lindsay and was married to him when he blew himself up in the london bus and train attacks that killed more than 50 people. it's not clear if that event radicalized her. she initially condemned those bonks. >> subsequently, she thought to travel to east africa and connected with militants linked to the group al shabaab. >> reporter: authorities say lewthwaite has raised money and run low gistics for terrorists cells. in 2011 kenyan authorities raided three homes in mum bass is a. they found similar bomb making materials to those used in the london bombings. they arrested people for plotting to bomb tourist areas but were too late to capture samantha lewthwaite. do those add up to the westgate mall massacre? pete bergen doesn't think so. >> they are real massagists. they believe that women should be at home in a body veil. >> reporter:

. >> reporter: but a senior kenyan official says a woman was there. and kenyan leaders clearly believed has had bad intentions. born in buckingham shire england, she had by all accounts a normal, even innocent upbringing. as a teenager she married jermaine lindsey. she was pregnant when he blew himself up in the london bus and train attacks that killed more than 50 people. it is not clear if that event radicalized her. she initially condemned those bombings. >> reporter: but subsequently she is thought to have traveled to east africa and connected with militants linked to the group al shabab. >> reporter: she has been elusive, known to travel on a fake south african passport under the name natalie webb. in 2011, kenyan authorities raided three home in moom bassa including one used by lewthwaite. there she found similar bomb material to those used in the london bombings. they arrested people for plotting to bomb tourist areas but they were too late to catch samantha lewthwaite. do those pieces up up to the potential involvement? the analyst peter bergen doesn't think so. >> that doesn't

security forces are now conducting a floor by floor search, but officials believe all hostages have been rescued. the red cross and kenyanfficials say at least 62 people have been killed and 5 americans were amove the dozens who were injured. >> reporter: the third night of this siege in what was once a busy shopping mall is ablaze. in the darkness, long spells of eerie quiet after barrages of heavy gunfire. whatever the tactics of the kenyan special forces and regular army backup, the interior ministry says it prompted the al-shabab attackers to respond, and this is the also, fire blazing in a large section of the complex. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: there had been tense battles between the gunmen and security forces for prolonged periods. the kenyan army took casualties, as many soldiers ran for cover. the emergency services brought casualties to overcrowded hospitals. and then the government announced its forces were in full control. >> our resolve to defend our country has never been higher, and we will take the war to the criminal's doorsteps. this is our country. we are in control of the security situation, and kenyan

believes. dozens are still missing and a and kenyan official said authoritieshorities recovered a vehicle believed to cove have been used by the terrorists.rroris >> witnesses describe one as a caucasian woman. some is things she could be the so white widow. a british citizen whose husband was the bomber in a train attack in london. john miller is a former fbi assistant director.o what do we know about the white widow. >> she was the wife of one of the bombers from london and said she knew nothing about that he plot. 77 a couple of years later turned ut it and up in al shabaab. since then she has been a. implicated as being involved in she' two plots. possibl one blew up a couple of bars in caulk soccer matches and another one at a against a hotel. she seems to be moving around on a formed passport belonging to a sa. british nurse.ears >> she is 29 years old and a mother with children. may why do they think she may be s involved in the mall attack?ow? >> they don't know. they have a description of a white woman that one witness o said was among the attackers and they know she is working with alow

kenyan military during the takeover of the mall by militants. it's believed there may be more victims trapped in the rubble. the official death toll, 61. an red cross says more than 65 people are still unaccounted for. >>> more information is coming out about how and why the navy yard shooter went on a killing rampage. the fbi released surveillance video of him stalking a hallway with a sawed-off shotgun. he was seen sneaking around corners, preparing to shoot any person he ran into. he etched phrases on his firearm that include "end to the torment," and "better off this way." investigators say they practically found a confession in his computer files. >> frequent attacks is what i've been subject to for the last three months. and to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this. >> he killed 12 people before law enforcement killed him. the department of defense is currently conducting three reviews of security at its installation. >>> the budget battle continues in congress. the senate votes to move forward on a bill to fund the government without de-funding obama care. to avoid a government shutdown, the funding bill must ma

kenyan officials said two are among those that are dead. 200 people are believed to have been hurt including five americans. the kenyan red across many are still unaccounted for. thousands were in the mall when the attack began and got out safely. his nephew and fiance died in the attack and promised to punish those responsible. >> they shall not get away with their despicable and boastly acts. like the cowardly perpetrators cornered in the building. we will punish the masterminds swiftfully and indeed very painfully. >> secretary of state john kerry called the terrorist attack an offense against everyone's sense of right and wrong. >> it represents the seriousness and breath of the challenge we face with this and completely reckless terrorists. >> here's what you need to know about the group that is behind this. this is a somalian terrorist group that originated in 2006 when they split off from forces that controlled parts of somalia. the head swore allegiance to al qaeda and swarmed an influx into that country including americans. there was an ongoing battle between them and kenyan forces.

a kenyan intelligence official tells cnn they now believe planning for the attack began more than a year cnn that three more people have been arrested. at least 67 people were killed in the four-day hostage crisis. >>> coming up on cnn, a college student accused of hacking ms. teen usa's webcam, taking pictures and blackmailing her. >>> plus, a pilot suffers a heart attack midflight. find out what happened on board. >> and breaking today, a quote, bone chilling bust. two former u.s. soldiers conspiring to kill a federal agent in a huge operation involving cocaine. when you have diabetes like i do, getting the right nutrition isn't always easy. first, i want a way to help minimize my blood sugar spikes. then, a way to support heart health. ♪ and let's not forget immune support. ♪ but now i have new glucerna advance with three benefits in one. including carbsteady ultra to help minimize blood sugar spikes. it's the best from glucerna. [ male announcer ] new glucerna advance. from the brand doctors recommend most. advancing nutrition for diabetes. you raise her spirits. we tackled your shou

kenyan official say the situation is under control is what they say but they believe gunmen are still holed up inside. at least 62 killed by al shabaab terrorists who stormed the westgate mall this past weekend. authorities say three attackers killed and ten arrested and kenya's foreign minister is telling pbs that two or three americans took part in this attack. cnn's arwa damon is live in nairobi this morning. give us a sense of the very latest. >> reporter: when it comes to those americans who may have been involved in this attack, the kenyan government is also saying they appear to have been of somali or arab origin. the state department is investigating that report. westgate mall is behind me around the corner. while the kenyan government is saying they do have the situation under control, that is all pretty relative. we heard frn explosion earlier and sporadic bursts of gunfire and seems they are going through to carry out the final sweep. an unknown number of gunmen inside there and various reports that parts of the building might be boobytrapped and snipers inside as well. the

believe side the mall. those details are unclear and kenyan officials are not sure there are any hostages left. as for the gunmen themselves, the kenyan foreign minister says they do include americans, two or three of them, along with a british woman. on monday president obama talked about the standoff. >> this i think underscores the rude awakening all of us as an international community have to stand against the kind of senseless violence that these kinds of groups represent. >> with me from nairobi is our partner, itn's john irvine, and he is taking cover right now. john, what can you tell me right now? >> reporter: well, there was a gunshot a couple of minutes ago. it was very close by. it may have been the security forces firing at westgate mall. we simply don't know. but i, like the other media here, have taken cover for time being, so please excuse me for not appearing in shot right now. it sort of underlines the impression one has here that while the kenyan security forces may have the upper hand, may have the situation under control, the westgate mall is not entirely secure yet. when y

kenyan officials. state department issued the advisory friday, which made specific references to the mall attack. kenyan authorities believey could hurt tourism there. its foreign minister called the statements unnecessary sbun called for, noting that the group responsible for the attack targeted kenyans. >>> red cross is helping 40 senior citizens after a fire forced them from their retirement home out in phoenix. take a look at this video right here. all the response that came out to help. firefighters were able to put it out very quickly, but they're still not sure what actually got it started. several people were treated for breathing in smoke. no one, thankfully, though, was seriously hurt. >>> firefighters say an electrical problem sparked this fire that left hundreds of people homeless. this happened in new jersey, right across the river from manhattan. you can see that the fire lasted much into the afternoon yesterday and into the night. the five-story apartment building, dozens of families live there. one firefighter did break his ribs, trying to rescue some of those family members, but no one else was hurt. >> th

. >> but a senior conditionian official says that a woman was there, and kenyans leaders believe thathe's had bad intentions. she had, by all accounts a normal, even innocent upbringing. as a teenager she married, and she was pregnant when lindsey blew himself up in the attacks that killed more than 50 people. it's not clear if she initially condemned those bombings. >> reporter: authorities say she's also been elusive t. known to travel on a fake south after kaj passport until the name natalie webb. in 2011 -- they raided two homes. there they found similar bomb-making materials to those used in the london bombings. they arrested people for plotting to bomb tourist areas, but they were too late to is catch samantha. do those add up to her potential voflt with the wetgate event? >> they're real misogynists. they believe that women should be at home in a body veil. >> reporter: but she wouldn't broadband the first western woman to be involved in a well-known terrorist plot. in november 2005 a belgian who had joined al qaeda blew herself up and injured a u.s. soldier in a suicide bombin

kenyan friends were killed in the attack. here's where the situation in kenya stands right now. officials believe hostages have been freed but security forces continue to sweep through the mall to search for survivors or attackers. al-shabab claimed responsibility for the attack that began on saturday. ten suspects have been arrested so far. before the group's twitter account was suspended, it claimed three of the attackers were from the united states. the fbi is looking into those claims but so far has not been able to confirm them. >>> no more fighting over that remote. coming up in tonight's consumerwatch, the cool new tvs that let two people watch two shows at the same time. >>> why the new iphone's fingerprint security system could actually turn out to be a big embarrassment for apple. ,, i want you to know stuff i want you to be kind. i want you to be smart. super smart. i want one thing in a doctor. to speak my language. i don't want you to look at the chart before you say hi...david. quiero que me hagas sentir segura. i want you to be awesome. that's the doctor i want. at kaiser permanent

kenyan officials. however there will determine who is possible. the british citizen wanted on terrorism charges dating back to december 2011. officials believe he was fingered by witnesses as one of the attackers. the widow of one of the four suicide bombers from the 2005 london attack. diverse finding human remains near their recently of righted coast the concordia khrushchev. waiting on dna test results to see if they are the last two bodies missing among the shipwrecks' 32 victims. the search for a missing italian been a passenger in an indian waiter finally resuming last week, 20 months after the luxury liner capsized. and the results are in for the first group of soil selected by nasa's mars curiosity rover. analysis revealing that materials collected on the surface of the plenty contains several percent water by weight. according to the study's lead author polytechnic institute tina science, about 2 percent of the soil on the surface of mars is made up of water. is there life? we will have to wait and see, but we begin with the budget battle in our nation's capital. the president still is campaigning for his signature health care law.

kenyan officials don't expect to find anymore victims in the rubble of the westgate mall, which is partially collapsed. they believefind the bodies of terrorists. new video shows a remarkable scene from inside the mall. a police officer in civilian clothes crawling on the floor to rescue a woman and her two small children. but they're too terrified to move. eventually, the officer gets them to go to safety. zane verjee had family inside the mall as well, an aunt, and she spoke to us earlier. listen to this. >> i grew up here and it has been a petrifying experience for me. the first time i've ever encountered something like this in a very safe country. my home, i was at -- in the supermarket, cowering at the back of the shelves and these guys just passi ining nears u at coming towards us and that was very sad that i won't see my family again. >> there are a lot of questions about how the terrorists planned this attack and now, there's a report that they may have used a storage area actually inside the mall to store their weapons in advance. what do we know about this? >> what we're hearing from eyewitness would tall

kenyan officials have said this will end tonight, our forces will repray. and there are reports that they are close to clearing that building, but we hear that roughly a dozen hostages are still believed to be inside. tonight, kenya security forces moved in, hoping to end the more than day and a half standoff, outside the mall, a large explosion as choppered hovered overhead. some 36 hours after the terror began, the terrorists were still inside the mall, holed up with 30 hostages in a tense standoff withuthorities. the group of 10 to 15 militants were deep inside the mall's basement, inside a stocked supermarket with plenty of resources to hold their ground. the toll is already enormous. at least 68 dead. 175 wounded. among the injured, at least five american citizens. one of them, a child. the highly coordinated attack began at noon yesterday. two groups of gunmen dressed in black storming the doors, throwing grenades and opening fire with automatic weapons. this dramatic video captures the chaos, gunshots herd as panicked shoppers run through the aisles. throughout the afternoon, survivors stepped over dead bodies as they fled for the exits or crawled for cover, hiding in stores, e

believed to be a gunman. a thorough has been released to the shootings youngest victim. 83 year-old boy who is recuperating at the hospitaa ths recuperating from the hospital. kenyan officialst of the mall secure from that terror attack. >> the bears are 3-0. sports is next... ♪ need advice on how to juggle those big family meals? this kenmore elite dual temperature double oven, exclusively from sears, can help. so you never have to worry... ...about dropping a dish. impressive! and so is j.d. power ranking kenmore elite highest in customer satisfaction. come celebrate kenmore's 100th anniversary and save up to 30% off all kenmore appliances. this is celebrating big. this is sears. married to morty kaufman. [ lee ] now that i'm getting older some things are harder to do. this is not a safe thing to do. be careful babe. there should be some way to make it easier. [ doorbell rings ] let's open it up and see what's cookin'. oh i like that. look at this. it's got a handle on it. i don't have to climb up. this yellow part up here really catches a lot of the dust. did you notice how clean it looks? morty are you listening? morty? [ morty ] i'm listening! i want you to know. morty

kenyan officials say they are in charge of the westgate mall. >> we have fully cordoned the building. so that makes no room for escapees. >> reporter: authorities believeave been released. gunfire, explosions, and billowing clouds of smoke as kenyan military forces battled with al shabaab militants holding hostages in the mall. as many as 15 members of the al qaeda affiliate stormed the mall with grenades and automatic weapons. some were dressed as women. american nick handler was at the westgate mall with his 2-year-old daughter and his 8 month pregnant wife was on another floor. three hours after the first shots were fired, they were finally reunited. >> all of a sudden heard a loud explosion followed by two gunshots, and i immediately grabbed her and luckily i was right by the door so we were able to sprint out. >> reporter: u.s. officials say it is one of the only al qaeda affiliates to recruit here in the u.s. they say there have been 50 american recruits, half from the minneapolis/st. paul area. >> i think it is surprising anytime you find out middle america has become a hot bed for terrorist recruiting. >> reporter: at the united nations, presid

kenyan officials say they don't expect to find any more victims in the rubble of the westgate mall, which has partially collapsed largely due to that fire. they believefind the bodies of terrorist, but new video shows an absolutely remarkable scene from inside that mall. you're seeing the pictures there. a police officer in civilian clothes on the left side of the screen crawling on the floor to rescue a woman and her two small children. but they are too terrified to move. eventually, the officer you see there, grabs them up in his arms and takes them away to safety. >> there's a lot of questions about how they planned this attack and even questions being raised about whether they rented a store inside the mall, how they got the weapons in. heavy weapons. what have you been hearing? i don't kn i know there was a news conference a few hours ago. >> the minister of interior, we did put all of these questions to him, but he keeps saying it's just simply too early to be able to tell. he wants everybody to be able to hold on until the forensic investigation finally starts issuing its findings, but that's not stopping a lot of people from talking about wha

official told nbc news the deadly siege there ended. the kenyan interior ministry said on twitter that the government is now in control of that mall. the heavily armed militants who stormed the mall are believedbe members of a somali terrorist group calls al shabaab. they are looking at claims some of the militants are american. steve handelsman on capitol hill with more on the story. >> reporter: thanks. somalis in america estimate the number to 85,000. some live in washington. they live mostly in the states of minnesota, ohio, maine and the state of washington. today, in minneapolis, somalian community leaders expressing horror about what happened in kenya acknowledge that a few dozen, that's all there are, a few dozen young

kenyan officials also say they're expanding the search for other suspects connected to the westgate attack. they believes a large network of al-shabaab militants who helped plan and carry out the attack. really this is an international effort from the united states and israel and lots of different countries that are contributing to this. but right now there are more questions than answers, including the red cross says, jon, there are more than 70 people still missing. so the task at hand over the course of the next few days is really gigantic. they're trying to not only locate some of the missing individuals, but also try to piece together, jon, what exactly happened and who was all behind it. jon? jon: let's hope they do get to the bottom of it. conor powell in jerusalem, thank you. jenna: back here in the united states as we get closer to full implementation of obamacare, millions of americans are wondering just how much this is going to cost them. the obama administration is touting very affordable rates. critics of the plan, though, say that those rates are really just optimistic estimates, and we'r

with a senior kenyan official saying they know of one woman for sure and it was not possible to identify that woman's ethnicity at this point. the bodies of six of the terrorists are believed to be trapped in the rubble of the collapsed parking garage in the mall. our reporter has been covering the story from beginning. these new details about women being among the attackers, according to eyewitnesses, was do we know about this? >> reporter: well, there's a number of people that we spoke to were very categoric that they saw women amongst the attackers, and this white woman they said appeared to be giving orders and firing indiscriminately into the crowd. as you said, the authorities are now being slightly circumspect about this, but they do acknowledge that there is a growing body of evidence leading them to believe that this could indeed be true. but they say they can't be sure for now, anderson. >> eyewitness reports, you have to take them with a grain of salt. so we will see what the forensic evidence shows. there have been a lot of reports about this british woman, so called white widow and about her possibly being involved. what do you know about her? can you tell us

according to a kenyan government official, three gunmen have been killed since the siege began. officials believetense day of clashes between the military and the gunmen. battles have been so intense that journalists and other people nearby were forced to flee. we're also learning troubling new details about the people behind the attack. kenya's foreign minister says americans were among those who played a role in carrying out the killings. >> from the information that we have, two or three americans, i think so far i've heard of one brit. the americans from the information we have are young men. >> mm-hmm. >> about -- between maybe 18 and 19. >> somali origin? >> all somali or arab origin. but, you know, thatted in the u.s., in minnesota and one other place. you know, so basically, look, that just works to undermine i think the global nature of this war that we're fighting. >> the state department says -- >> she does the script. >> what? okay. there's no definitive evidence that americans were involved with the group. republican congressman peter king says dozens of somali men with u.s. passport

kenyan security forces are currently in control of all floors of the mall after gunfire from inside the heavy smoke from a fire that was seen filling the air throughout the day today. this hour, officials believe the hostages have been released. heefr here with reaction, terrorism expert steve emerson. let me talk about this al shabab. what do you know about them? >> al shabaab is linked to al qaeda and have been working with them. actually al qaeda trained and provided training facilities for communication between the arabian peninsula. we know a lot of them fought with al qaeda in the araub yan pe nins la in particular. we know either trained and sophisticated. they comprise about 7,000 to 9,000 members and they are are -- re kruting actively. >> what can you add to that? >> the washington post reported tonight the kenyan foreign minister saying that several of the attackers spoke english. what that indicates together with u.s.telligence which has known that there are upwards of a hundred europeans and americans fighting for al shabab. they are the new al qaeda central. no longer is afghanistan or oh yemen the center of gravity. this is an act that will propel them into becoming the new al q

believe all the hostages have been released. just an hour ago they tweet again that the kenyan defense forces continue to try to secure the building. they say a statement on the officialation will be issued later. meantime secretary john kerry has been among those expressing solidarity with the people of kenya, listen ruthless and valueless terrorists remain a serious challenge everywhere in the world as we all know. whether it's in downtown manhattan or at a mall in nairobi or anywhere else in the world all ofs have you a responsibility to remain vigilant. >> certainly that has been the message from kenyan officials that the people of kenya have to be very vigilant in the coming days and weeks. bill. >> bill: what in the world could have been the motivation for such murder, jonathan? >> remember the al shabaab group base based in somalia. they have said publicly that this attack was revenge for kenyan troop incursions into somalia that were designed to crack down on the islamists but others have pointed out as that reporter who you played some sound from in your introduction said, that they were asking people as they went into the mall are you muslim? and they were e

senior kenyan government official saying they know of only one woman for sure and that it was not possible to identify that woman's ethnicity at this point. the bodies of six of the terrorists are believed to be trapped in the rubble of the collapsed parking garage in the mall. cnn's namil bagir has been covering the story from the beginning. this story about women being attacke attackers told by the eyewitnesses what do you know about this? >> reporter: a number of people we spoke to were very categorical they saw women amongst the attackers, this white woman they say appeared to be giving orders and firing is din crimin indiscriminately into the crowd. authorities are circumspect about this. but they acknowledge there's a growing body of evidence leading them to believe this could indeed be true. but they just say they can't be sure for now, anderson. >> obviously eyewitness reports are always -- you have to take them with a grain of salt. weis see what the forensic evidence shows. but there had been a lot of reports about this british woman, so-called white widow and about her possibly being involved. what do we know about her? can you just tell us what you know about her? >> reporte