we begin again tonight with nbc's ron allen in nairobi where there's been some activity tonight, i understand, ron. >> reporter: indeed, brian. good evening. tonight we heard several loud explosions and saw fire at the mall site down the road behind me there. investigators say it is the hard work of clearing away ieds, bombs and explosives the militants left behind. the devastation of the west gate mall up close. new pictures today show the parking structure in ruins, still smoldering. what caused this much damage? authorities aren't saying. meanwhile intense speculation about this woman, samantha lewthwaite of britain, once married to a london subway bomber. she's known as the white widow. she may now be the most wanted woman in the world. today at kenya's request interpol issued a warrant for her arrest. in connection with a 2011 plot to bomb targets in ten i can't. no known connection to the mall attack but unconfirmed reports of a white woman among the gunmen. in kenya near the somalia border, another attack. two kenyan police officers killed. al shabaab again claiming responsibility. whi

ron allen live for us tonight in nairobi. ron, thanks. >>> some of the most harrowing images of the attack that were seen by the outside world came from the "new york times" photographer tyler hicks who lives in nairobi. he was nearby when the siege started. he ran to the scene, he slipped inside with responding police officers documenting everything he saw with his camera along the way. and today he spoke with us about what he saw inside. >> once i got inside the mall, i could see how tense everyone was. the army and police, how carefully they were moving. they were dashing across open areas, taking extreme care with their cover. it seemed like anywhere you looked, there would be another body. people were still hiding in shock. as the police and army were moving through, they would send people through and then flood out. so you get kind of moments of silence and then other moments of big streams of people. it really seems like everywhere we went, more people came out of the woodwork. and the music that plays in the shopping m

>> ron allen, in nairobi, kenya. do be careful. >>> and president obama begins a week of meetings with world leaders. but sunday, he tried to reset the national debate on gun reform. the president and first lady met with survivors of the navy yard shooting. it's the president's latest time he was grieving with the country over mass violence. >> as president, i've grieved with five american communities ripped apart by mass violence. ft. hood. tucson. aurora. sandy hook. and now, the washington navy yard. these tragedies are just somehow the way it is. that this is somehow the new normal. we can't accept this. >> the nra's wayne lapierre is pushing for tougher security and more armed guards. he reituated the comments he said after the newtown shooting. >> when the good guys with guns got there, it stopped. >>> a dramatic rescue in california, courtesy of the u.s. coast guard. the chop ya waters made the trail impassable for three days sunday. so, the coast guard's option was to bring each of the women up in a basket on

>> ron allen starting us off again from nairobi, kenya. n, thanks. >>> back in this country, specifically the nation's capital, the tone is getting uglier than normal in washington as lawmakers argue over funding the health care law, leaving the country just days from a possible government shutdown, that polling shows most americans do not support. our chief white house correspondent chuck todd following it all from our d.c. newsroom tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. another day of dysfunction and squabbling in washington as the clock ticks down for the potential government shutdown. republicans trying to defund the president's health care law to do this shutdown. but guess what, even if they avert the shutdown, it's a deal that will actually cost you more money. >> reporter: at a rally in suburban maryland today an exasperated president. >> we are not going to submit to this kind of total irresponsibility. congress needs to pay our bills on time. congress needs to pass a budget on time. congress needs to put an end t

we begin tonight with our correspondent, ron allen, in nairobi, ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, br n brian, kenyan's president said that he couldn't confirm reports that three americans and a british citizen were among the people killed. nbc has new video of the first terrifying view after the attack. inside, the security forces respond to the attack. helping the shoppers escape, hands in the air to show they are unarmed. it is eerily quiet in the mall, american music, with the singer bruno mars. a family, playing dead to avoid harm, afraid to move. the plain clothes officer reaches them and reassures them. carrying the child, he helps them to safety. this morning, three days after the attack, government forces searched for any remaining militants. a mop-up operation, they called it, after days of terror, late today, kenyan's president addressed the nations. >> we have been badly hurt and feel great pain and loss. but we have been brave, united and strong. kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. >> reporter: triumphed, but at a terrible cost. more than 60 dead, most o

nbc's ron allen has more now from nairobi. >> reporter: right now, there's a lot of concern about what happened inside the mall. there's still a thick cloud of black smoke billowing out of the building. it's been going on for several hours. it started with several loud explosions, leading to speculation that the militants might have blown up or detonated explosives, which they're believed to be carrying. conflicting accounts on both sides of what happened. both blaming the other, not surprisingly. also, a lot of concern and worry about the state of the hostages. we believe that they began with as many as ten people still being held inside the mall. the government insists most of them have been released over the past day or so, but, again, still, perhaps as many as ten people being held by the gunmen. >> we have done such of the building and we can confirm that the hostages, almost all of them, have been evacuated. >> reporter: after the explosion, barrages of gunfire, some spilling out into neighborhoods, people taking cover. but the bottom line is the kenyan government is determined t

>> ron allen in nairobi. joining us for this, justice correspondent pete williams and nbc news counter terrorism analyst, the former director of the national counter terrorism center. let's begin with you, pete. what are you hearing in. >> members of the terror group behind the attack claim that at least six people involved in the shooting are americans. from minnesota, kansas, arizona, illinois and maine and they've named names. at this point there is simply no way to know whether these claims are true. the senior fbi official says law enforcement authorities in the u.s. are actively looking into them. the first step is checking with their families here on their whereabouts. even finding out they're overseas or missing doesn't mean they were part of the shooting. that answer can only come once it is all over and the attackers are identified. for at least a decade, americans have been joining up with them headed to somalia to fight government there but dozens of others have joined up from other states. >> and

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want to get back to ron allen. ron, i know we have cleared up the microphone issue. tell us the situation now. are there still hostages inside that mall? >> we honestly don't know. the government is claiming that they are in control. there has been no sometimes gunfire spilling out into the neighborhoods beyond the malls. there is a heavy troop presence down there. we have seen troops and armored personnel carriers coming in throughout the day. the fire is burning throughout the mall. it's dark out here at night. i can still see a plume of smoke. perhaps it's not safe enough for the firefighter brigades to get down there and try to do that both sides have blamed the other. what sounded like a sequence to me leading to some speculation that the government may have set off some kind of booby trap. it has been long discussed that they perhaps brought explosives into the mall. the other reason being the hostages. we believe that at the beginning of the day there were as many as ten people still being held capti captive. the president yet indicated there were 10 to 15 gun

we begin tonight with ron allen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, kenyan president said that 11 were captured, and couldn't confirm that americans were among them. tonight, we have new video of the first terrifying moments after the attack. inside the west gate mall saturday, security forces respond to the attack, helping shoppers escape, hands in the air to show they are unarmed. it is eerily quiet, the music playing in the mall, the american singer, bruno mars. a family, playing dead to avoid harm, afraid to move. a plain clothes officer reaches them and reassures them. carrying the child, he helps them to safety. this morning, three days after the attack, government forces searched for any remaining militants. a mop-up operation, they called it, after days of terror. late today, kenya's president addressed the nation. >> we have been badly hurt and feel great pain and loss. but we have been brave, united and strong. kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. >> reporter: triumphed, but at a terrible cost, more than 60 dead, some unaccounted in the mall, where three flo

we begin our coverage with ron allen in nairobi.good evening. >> reporter: they believe all the hostages have been released. for the past couple of days we have been told there are ten hos tanl -- hostages remaining and ten gunmen holding them. it's been a day of violence here. a day of loud, powerful explosions and sustained military attack. early this morning black smoke pours from the shopping mall, the start of another day of violence. soldiers surrounding the mall opened fire from multiple positions. firefights so intense journalists and on-lookers hundreds of yards away ducked for cover. today, kenya's leaders claim the situation is under control. but an audio message from the militants threatened more bloodshed saying we have given orders to our fighters that they are free to kill the hostages. claiming to be behind the attack, al shabaab, a group linked to al qaeda. it is at war with somalia's government which is backed by kenya. the onslaughter began saturday just after noon. the up scale westgate mall, crowded with familie

ron allen is in nairobi with the new images. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. we just obtained these pictures exclusively. some were taken in the past 24 hours. as you will see, they are raw, they are graphic and they show the utter destruction of the mall in its aftermath, the aftermath of the four-day siege that left 67 people dead. keep in mind when you look at these pictures it happened on a saturday afternoon in a mall that looked before this like any typical mall in suburban america. there were stores, a children's cooking demonstration going on, very young kids. five gunmen were killed. was that the entire militant force that was there? so many questions remain. what happened to the hostages who were there. we were told 1,000 people were rescued. we never were told what happened to the people that were held hostage up to the final day. there are reports this morning as well that the government had advanced warning about this. was that intelligence followed up on. did the government have the capa

. >> join meg now on the phone from nairobi is nbc's ron allen. ron, i know within this past hour there's been a lot of activity. can you bring us up to date? >> reporter: it's nightfall here now, and the helicopters stopped flying when it got too dark. they were flying very, very low, just above maybe the six or seven-story mark. the mall is about four stories tall, with a parking garage on top. from where we're positioned, several hundred yards from the mall, it appeared that they were flying by. the noise you hear in the background is a fire and rescue truck that's going by our position right here. military vehicles coming in and out. ambulances coming in and out on this road that leads down to the mall. again, 200 yards or so from us. the security forces have created a perimeter, a safety perimeter around the area. they've evacuated the neighborhood. people aren't allowed to go nearby because it's still a very volatile situation. we've heard a couple of explosions. that's what signalled that something was going on here this evening, a couple of

ron allen, we'll be back with you. coming up on "morning joe," chuck kod will be here and pat toomey as well. we'll be right back. the morning papers. "wall street journal" a landslide victory for german chancellor angela merkel who was re-elected for a third term but her party, the pro business free democrats fell short of the seats needed to win parliament. the election sends a message that germany is standing by the euro. merkel's popularity is attributed to a strong economy and low unemployment rate. >> the german economy has just been extraordinary. compared to all the other countries. actually event fiscally responsible. >> $270 million worth of cocaine found on an air france flight. several people have been taken infor questioning. >> overseas in sydney, the sydney morning herald a flight was delaid out of australia after a snake tried to hitch a ride. it was discovered on a qantas plane. 370 passengers were inconvenienced by the unwelcomed guest. the snake was about seven inches long. why don't they grab it and

. >> i i want to go live to ron allen. he can't get in front of the camera. he is now. he's ducking down. what's going on? >> chuck, we are taking a safer position because of the borage of gunfire. about 300 yards where the mall is located. it has been quiet, but just a very heavy sustained gunfire for about a minute or so. you can see here crouched down, we are in a position where a number of soldiers are not far from here. we have seen army personnel carriers moving in position. a couple of hours ago, there were six or seven huge explosions. you can see up there, the smoke is billowing out and you can hear the gunfire in the distance. we are 300 or more yards away in a protected area we think. it feels comfortable. i can tell you that or i wouldn't be here. spoke is pouring out of the building and has been that way for the past couple of hours. we saw a fire come in and go out. there were reports about what happened to cause the explosions. both sides are saying in messages that the other side caused the explosions. the government and the al shabob militants inside. w

nbc's ron allen has our report again tonight from kenya. >> reporter: kenya is in mourning. family members come to the nairobi morgue to identify the bodies of loved ones. as kenya's growing investigation into the mall attack gets help from around the world. >> the u.s., britain, germany, canada and other agencies including interpoll. >> reporter: the february was on the ground shortly after the attack began and now has a significant presence here. how did the al shabaab terrorists pull off the attack? they stashed weapons inside the mall in advance of the attack and had inside help. they rehearsed the attack using blue prints of the mall and getting into kenya by paying off corrupt border guards. new video shows the extent of the damage. deputy commander who led a hostage rescue team said they rigged the mall with ieds. he says the assault was so fierce there was no time to talk. it was one of his men who saved a terrified mother and her children who had played dead until help came. kenyan forces saved hundreds, he told us. >> it could have been a lot worse. but if's a succ

but first, the latest from ron allen who is on scene in nairobi. >> reporter: it was a brazen attack in broad daylight, as one of the most popular places for families to spend a saturday afternoon, the elegant westgate shopping mall, erupted into a battlefield. gunmen burst in throwing grenades, then firing a hail of bullets. hundreds of people, including many children there for a special event, hid wherever they could. some for several hours, until they could escape. >> he shot at my head. luckily it hit the wall behind me. >> we started to run. >> reporter: a north carolina woman says it was terrifying. >> you could hear them medically going from store to store, talking to people, asking questions, shooting, screams, and then it would stop for a while and they would go to another store. >> reporter: the militant group claimed it was retaliation for the troops being sent into somalia. the gunmen, this man said, had a special message for muslims in the crowd. nonmuslims, witnesses say, were executed. it was the worst attack since the 1988 bombing of the u.s. embassy. on national tele

. >> nbc's ron allen is in nairobi and joins us now by phone. ron, how do we figure out whether the president of kenya is correct, that they have got control or from what you're seeing on the ground there, which seems to be continual gunfire and explosions? >> reporter: well, the president just made a speech to the nation, andrea, as you know, and he's tried to leave no doubt that this incident, as he put it, is now behind us, quote unquote. he said that there were 240 casualties. that 61 civilians lost their lives. that six security officers were killed, five terrorists were killed, as he put it. 11 are in custody. he did not explicitly say what had happened to the, quote unquote, hostages. we were led to believe as of yesterday that there were still ten people being held by the gunmen. he didn't elaborate or didn't explain what happened to that group of individuals, he just gave the overall number of 61 civilians losing their lives and 240 casualties. so something of a mystery. yes, you're right that throughout the course of the day, especially

nbc's ron allen is live in nairobi with the latest. ron? >> reporter: good morning, brian. yes. winding down is one way to describe it. but the situation here is -- it's pretty -- a lot of anticipation. it's also somewhat tense, as well, there are still, perhaps as many as 15 or more hostages who are being held by these gunmen. we believe they're about 10 to 15 gunmen, as well. the military here insists they've been able to free some of the civilians. but an exact count of what's on inside the mall is difficult to come by. it's several hundred yards down this road. we've been pushed back because there is still sporadic gunfire, explosions wi s we can hear, ev though we're this far away. a delicate situation, obviously. but the military says they have the gunmen confined to one area of the mall. we don't know how big an area it is. but the safety of these innocent civilians, men, women and children, being held, is the paramount concern -- one of the paramount concerns of the government. we've seen military ambulances come in and out. trucks come in and out, here at the perimeter.

ron allen is on the phone where the hostages are still being held. he's got late breaking details for us. ron, good morning. >> good morning, david. the death toll is now up to 59 and 175 people wounded and those numbers could easily rise because this is still a very tense and uncertain situation. we believe there are perhaps as many as 10 to 15 gunmen. they're holding as much as 30 or more hostages. it's unclear if there's a full grasp of what's going on. we're talking about a huge urban mall, dozens of shops, restaurants, a food court. there was a matinee movie under way. there was a children's event on the roof and the food court dozens of children entertaining themselves. a very chaotic situation. the hospitals here are overwhelmed with wounded. we understand that there are a few americans who are involved in this. none of the fatalities are americans. although there are foreign nationals who were killed. at this point, the authorities are taking it slow. trying to get a grasp of what's going on in every nook and cranny of the mall. it remains to

let's get right to ron allen with the latest. ron, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. yes, the siege may not be completely over. we heard a couple of loud explosions this morning and gunfire coming from the mall back there. a top kenyan official continues to insist that u.s. citizens were among the gunmen involved in the attack. this morning, kenyan soldiers still working to secure the besieged mall still seemed to encounter more resistance. they appeared to carry a body bag from the building and in the past few hours, al-shabab, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the attack said their fighters are still holding their ground, following the effort to end the siege that began saturday. the government said it was in full control of the situation combing the four-story mall from floor to floor to make sure it's safe. they believe all hostages are released adding the enemy will continue to spew propaganda. it remains unclear what happened to the remaining hostages and the gunmen. as many as 15 according

nbc's ron allen is in nearby. he filed this dramatic report amid gunfire a short time ago. >> reporter: there's every indication they're trying to bring this siege now entering its third day to an end. we've seen a lot of police and military activity here on the perimeter. we're several hundred yard as way from the entrance to the mall but still able to ex-hear explosions and gunfire which gives you an idea of the intensity of what's going on down there. the government now insists it has control of most of the mall and that the gunmen are confined to a very small area and believe there are anywhere from 10 to 15 gunmen and perhaps the ten hostages, as well. the government is saying they have managed to free some of the people who were being held but at this point numbers are very hard to come by exact measurements of what's going on there. the bottom line, though, is that the newest worry, the government has tried to show patience but clearly want to end it as soon as possible. it's a tricky situation, of course,

that's where we find nbc's ron allen live from just outside the shopping mall where the terrorists are still holed up. ron, what's happening right there on the ground now? >> reporter: well, the kenyan government has just released a statement saying that they are in full control of the mall, all four floors of it. it's unenclosuclear exactly wha happening at the mall. there's still a thick cloud of smoke billowing out from the mall. in fact in the last few minutes it's gotten even thicker. there seems to be little effort to put the fire out. it's perhaps not safe enough for a fire brigade to get that close. the morning started with as many as ten hostages being held by 10 to 15 very heavily armed gunmen. again, the government is saying most of the hostages have been released, have been freed, and they are saying as well that they are in control of the mall. there have been conflicting reports back and forth since this day began with huge explosions and barrages of gunfire going back and forth, just we're in a secure zone perimeter about 300 yards from the mall. but even that far back y

nbc's ron allen live in nairobi and has the latest on the standoff and joins us now. ron, over to you. >> good afternoon, sue. yes, the kenyan government for the past hour or so has been claiming they have the situation under control and they are in control of all the floors in the mall, they say. however, there's been no evidence, no lease of hostages, not seen what has happened with the gunmen. all we've seen throughout the day is episodes of gunfire and explosions that have changed the dynamic of this entire situation. there is still a cloud of smoke above the mall that's been there since this morning when several explosions, four or five or six in succession, went off here with a thunderous force. that was followed by hails of gunfire going back and forth of different directions. apparently the hostage takers, the gunmen, are hold up in some part of the mall. it's unclear exactly how many are still there. the government indicated as many as 10 to 15. how many hostages are still there. what their condition is. we believe there were as many as ten who were still ther

nbc's ron allen is in nairobi with the latest. ron. >> reporter: good morning. yes. it's a very tense morning here outside this mall. we're several hundred yards away, but even at this distance we've been able to hear gunfire and explosions. it's been sporadic. not sustained, but it started last night. helicopters were seen flying overhead very low and slow. there were several explosions. we can also see the troops on the fringes of the mall here, on the edge of the safety corridor moving into more aggressive positions and the kenyan government has made a number of statements saying that this is their final push. at this point we think there are perhaps as many as 10 to 15 gunmen still hold up inside the mall. the government incysists that ty are still hold up. numbers are very hard to come by here. very difficult to tell exactly what's happening. the bottom line is that the government appears to be determined to try and end this now. we're about to hit 48 hours this have hostage siege. outside here in the community, the hospitals

. >> ron, so tough to see the pictures, especially of the children, ron allen, starting our broadcast off tonight. and one person was inside the mall, meeting a friend for lunch when the attack began. she is now back home safely in this country, and described to nbc tom costello about her harrowing ordeal, and how she lived to tell about it. >> nice to see it. you survived. how do you feel? at dulles airport this afternoon, this american was finally back home. >> it's okay, it's okay. it's okay. >> reporter: a harvard-trained lawyer with the world bank, bendita was in kenya having lunch with a friend when terrorists ran in. >> and then all of a sudden there was this explosion, and everybody like hits the floor. and we hear machine guns. and it was maybe ten seconds later, still trying to crawl out. it was a second explosion. but when they first came in, they were just shooting. i mean, they were not asking any questions, they were just shooting. >> reporter: crawling away from the gunfire, bendita and her friend made it to an employee break room in a nearby store and waited with 15 ot

. >> nbc's ron allen, thank you for the info and please stay safe. >> i want to bring in yoshi. you wrote an article last week about the next front in the war on terror being africa. i want to talk about the big picture here. one is porous borders, underequipped military and flourishing drug trades. it's harder to mount a counter terror efforts. tell us about your initial thoughts when you heard about the attack in kenya and al-shab al-shabab's growing influence. >> it's a good way of summarizing why this attack happened. it is one that was not surprising at all. this is a very sophisticated group. it had bombed a soccer stadium some years ago. it's sophisticated not only in terms of how they carry out attacks but how they tweet them out and use social media to publicize them. often in the west we dismiss them as a bunch of guys with guns and we forget these groups know exactly what they are doing. there are peace keepers inside somalia from uganda and kenya and they are saying get out of somalia and saying it the most violent way possible. >> how much do you think this is an in

ron allen has the latest in nairobi. good morning. >> good morning to you, savannah.ow that three four of the mall collapsed. it's unclear how many bodies are buried under the rubble. we're hearing occasional gunfire but we're told that is kenyan soldiers firing into the air before they enter blind areas of the mall as they begin piecing together how all of this could have happened. >> reporter: kenyan troops mopping up at the still smolderring westgate mall. this is some of the first horrifyi horrifying moments after it began. here a family including a child plays dead until help arrives. a bloody operation reportedly planned for months. sources say the militants stashed weapons inside the mall in advance. during the attack, more than a dozen heavily armed militants stormed the building using at least two entrances, opening fire and barricading themselves in a super market. >> as a nation, our hand is bloodied but unbound. >> reporter: five mill tanlts from al shabaab were killed and 11 others were in custody. he said nothing about the fate of the hostages. it's uncl