the battle for control of the westgate shopping center as night falls in nairobi. sustained gun fire and explosions were heard all day, we'll have the very latest in the scene from the kenyan capital. >>> also this 84, suspended of their assets, the court contraction down on the muslim brotherhood. >> i'm barbara sera in london. angela merkel starts a new term but insists germany's monetary policy won't change. >>> kenyan are military is continuing into the night, at least 63 people including three fighters according to the kenyan are government. the group al shabaab carried out the attack. >> the final stage to a siege hathat has cost so many lives. stretched to a break point, the military engaged in an operation they say saved lives. then this. persistent heavy gun fire, the thick pall of smoke has been there for an hour or more and this does look like the final stages about the no one's exactly sure exactly what the situation is. the interior ministry say the al shabaab is responsible for this, it detonated when. >> has never been higher. and we want to say that

. >> let's go live to al jazeera's correspondent outside the westgate mall in nairobi. what has been happening out there, what is the scene like right now? >> the gun men are still at the mall. the siege continues. they are still holding hostages. questions are coming about about the security operations and the security in this country, really - how could heavily armed gunmen access the mall. it's in an affluent area, well protected. how could this happen? to explain this is francis, who is a security analyst. please, tell us - we are told that it took 30 minutes for the police to respond to this. do you think the situation could have been averted if they had responded earlier? >> if they responded within the first three minutes, in the international police time line, arresting the situation, instead of going to the extreme it has gone to, it would have been a bit normal. by the time - in about 10-15 minutes they were trying to engage people, the hostages themselves. if the police came in the first 10 minutes they would have been able to engage them in a firefight which

an operation to clear the westgate shopping center is underway. the interior minister that kenya is getting help from foreign forensic teams. >> the interior ministry saying that there is external help going on at the moment. it has been the fate since the beginning of the process. is really guidance being given to try to rescue the hostages. we are hearing there are officers from scotland yard. and various other agencies helping to comb through the building and piecing together forensic information. trying to assess if there is still a danger in the building. >> and the latest on the operation to clear the building act out we have heard of several floors collapsing. >> very confused it sure, even five days after the siege got underway. they declared that the siege was officially over. potentially when we had a comment from the government spokesman saying that the security service was still moving around the building and going into unknown territory. the local media has said that the security forces fired heavy weapons. they raised some significant

this is the scene outside of westgate. as we know from authorities there in kenya, 20 people kil d killed, 50 people injured. the latest we have is that there are people who are being held hostage. we do not know how many. and from another kenyan government source, the attackers appear to be of somali origin. ms. kassan, while you were hiding, essentially, during this attack, was there anything else you heard, or was it completely silent where you were? did you hear gunshots? did it seem as if it was, you know, gunshots in quick repetition? or they were handguns? describe for us what you heard. >> no, they sounded like ak-47s and, you know, there was a crossfire at several stages of the time, the period we were there. you know, all of a sudden, it would get quiet, and then a random -- and then a lot of shooting. initially, it was random. you know, i think when they entered the areas simultaneously, they shot randomly at people. and this is random shooting. you know, at one, and then we had crossfire. >> and we're now showin

jazeera obtained a leaked intelligence report which says the kenyan government was warned about the westgate mall siege. >> also, dozens of students murdered in their sleep in nigeria, the military blames boko haram. >> and a bombing in pakistan. >> here from europe, italy's president says he'll call new elections if the prime minister can't dissolve the current political crisis. >> golden dawn's second in command is taken to court. >> more than a week now since the nairobi shopping mall and the spotlight is on the kenyan government and warnings it may have ignored. al jazeera obtained a copy of a leaked intelligence report saying that security agencies were alerted about an attack on the westgate mall about a year ago. we take up that story from the kenyan capital. >> that was shot by the kepian red cross, showing scenes of confusion during the westgate mall siege. a number of victims are treated. some of the dead had to be left goodnight. >> more than a week later kenyans learnt that the government may have known about an attack here. the intelligence document given to al jazeera and leake

day 4 of the militant attack on the westgate mall in nairobi. y forces sent out tweets saying they are now in control of the mall. sue kwon joins us with the latest. >> this is definitely playing out on twitter gunmen as you mentioned most recently tweeting that security forces do not have control. and they claim they still have hostages. this morning, the u.s. state department is looking into reports that at least two of the gunmen are americans possibly 18 or 19 years old and from minneapolis. al-shabab is a militant group linked to al qaeda. the group has recruited americans before. a journalist inside the mall tweeted a series of posts describing how many of the people were children. at least five americans in the mall were injured. and there is still no count of how many hostages are still alive inside the mall. while gunmen entered there was a children's cooking competition going on inside. >> running around in little aprons. we heard a series of gunshots. we called everyone to the corner all the kids and moms and parents and everyone and s

there has been heavy gunfire at the westgate mall in nairobi. reuters newsagency reports that somali rebel group al-shabab is threatening to kill all remaining hostages if force is used. so far 68 are known to have died in the siege. >> the german chancellor is celebrating after leading her party to victory in the general election. angela merkel returns to office for a record third term. >> at least 20 people have been killed and southern china after typhoon usagi made landfall. that makes it the deadliest storm there so far this year. >> syrian president bashar al-assad says he has given new evidence to russia on the use of chemical weapons by rebel fighters. in an interview with china's state-owned cctv channel bashar al-assad added that the rebels are working under foreign direct tifs and warned what he called terrorists could try to prevent inspectors reaching chemical weapons sites. >> translation: the only thing is that the security situation in some areas could put obstacles in the part of some inspectors. i mean areas where those want to

control of the shopping center. [ gunfire ] >> gunfire and multiple explosions have been heard at the westgate parole. the submi military has surrounde al-shabab fighters. no one knows how many rebels are still in hiding. al-shabab has threatened t to kill those still inside if military use force. he'they have vowed to bring justice. >> our resolve to defend our country has never been higher. and we will take the war to the criminal's war steps. this is our country. we are in control of the security situation, and kenyons should be--should take comfort that the country is in our hands. >> well, we're live in nairobi, katherine, there was a huge flurry of activity an hour ago. tell us what you saw and what was happening. >> yes, about an hour ago we had several loud explosions of gunfire, and there was a lot of activity, military officers running around. the atmosphere now is quite relaxed. they were all crouching down. there were policemen who had their guns cocked and really telling us to stay down, to signify, to show the intensity that was there. at the time the information was unclear on w

. >> security forces opened fire outside the westgate mall in nairobi trying to regain control from armed men. a blanket cover thought to be one of the casualties. the shopping complex was packed about midday local time when people heard a large explosion. then they saw men with ak 47 machine guns opened fire. some of the shoppers were able to escape and about 20 people were rescued by the police but dozens of people are still thought to be trapped inside. the police were able to enter the building about an hour after the attack started. >> the hold up on the second floor. at the cinema. they have been isolated by the police and the police actually combing room by room, floor by floor. but as the issue -- the saga develops. >> there is a security process to guess into the shopping mall but as seen here there's a restaurant on the ground floor protected from the road only by a balcony, spread gun -- sporadic gun fire can be heard. carolyn are al jazeera news. >>> tell us about what you're seeing. >> yeah, i got here about 15, 20 minutes after the explosion stopped and it had died down for

stormed the high end westgate mall in kenya. consider this - how do american citizens get involved with a group that commits terrorist attacks, and targeted christians and non-muslims. as part of al jazeera's looks at the cost of health care, we'll look at the key to obamacare - young adults. why would healthy young invincibles want to pay for insurance, when they can just pay a small fine. alien life may or may not have been disorder in the stratosphere. voyager 1 may or may not have left the solar system. you may or may not be able to travel to space. i'm antonio mora, welcome to consider this. officials at kenya's interior ministry tweeted that they believe all hostages had been released. two or three americans were part of the al-shabab team that started the assault on the westgate mall on saturday afternoon. according to the red cross 62 were killed and 175 injured. kenyan police say three al-shabab fighters were killed. as al jazeera's reporter reports, the attack came at a time when al-shabab seemed to be on the decline. >

intelligence report from kenya says the government may have ignored warnings about an attack on the westgate mall in nairobi. >> a closer look at payroll cards. employers say yes, they are convenient, but some workers are not happy about the fees being charged. >> there is now every indication the u.s. government is headed to its first shutdown since bill clinton was president and number of -- newt gingrich was spark of the house. there is a bill, but it has a delay to the obamacare. republicans believe that democrats who control the senate might blink even though the democrats led by harry reid said repeatedly that any budget bill with changes to obamacare is dead on arrival. as john -- john boehner walks in the public, they may not vote for the bill: the crucial battle over who is at fault has begun in the event of a government shutdown. >> when it comes to the possibility of government shutdown, republicans and democrats are playing the blame game. >> this is a terrible destructive strategy, unnecessary. >> the president is saying he l he'll shut the government if you don't give me what i

also ahead investigation in kenya, an international team is at the westgate shopping mall to find out how terrorists were able to attack it. >> and the crackdown on muslim brotherhood protests. >> rescuers have not been able to reach many of the scattered communities hit by an earthquake in southwest pakistan. 348 people have been killed, but that figure is expected to rise. the remote region is one of pakistan's poorest province where is hospitals and medical supplies are squares. al jazeera is the only international news team in the worst effected area, and our correspondent kamal is there. >> reporter: the situation is quite desperate. the numbers that you're getting from official sources are in areas where no one has yet to come see and assess the damage. as you can see behind me these villagers are trying to do everything on their own. they're trying to dig through the rubble in the hope that they'll find someone there, someone who is missing. it's quite significant, and now the most important these people don't have any shade, no water, food, all their belongings are gone. the v

their daughter who escaped the siege at the westgate mall returned home to dulles international airport. erika gonzalez has more on what's next for them. >> a young woman is reunited at home with her father and mother after she says what sounded like explosions going off around her. tonight, they are asking for privacy as they try to regroup. she lights up at the sight of her father. this is the moment they have anxiously awaited over the course of four days. how does it feel to be home? >> i'm so glad to be here with my parents. really glad. >> reporter: reunited after a

he has heard al shabaab's justification for the westgate attack and says it's hyprocacy. >> translatorey are punishing us for killing somalia but what did we do to be punished? >> reporter: he showed me the second-hand concrete barriers around his office they hope will fend off would be assassins. >> translator: this is not military, it's religious war and we need qualified, well-trained individuals. and i think we don't have that intelligence and professional, we don't have it. >> reporter: sympathy for victims of the westgate attack runs deep here, you don't have to go far to find people to complain of what they say is al shabaab's hypocrisy, take hundreds of thousands of people for example who were forced to run from their homes from the policies. in the shade of the cathedral the animals wait for food and the family fled here a year and a half ago during the last drought after al shabaab refused to let agencies in. and the experience of the westgate attack still came as a shock. >> translator: i feel really bad for them. we expected here because we don't have a good government that

live pictures now outside the westgate mall in nairobi, kenya. al qaeda-linked militants have killed at least 62 people but as many as 10 hostages may still be alive inside the mall. this morning, u.s. officials are investigating whether americans might be among those attackers. sue kwon has been monitoring the news coming in from kenya this morning and joins us with more. >> reporter: this morning a large explosion was heard from the complex and the drama is playing out on twitter. there are reports that two or three americans as well as a british woman could be among the attackers. >>> reporter: more gunfire rang out from inside the westgate mall in nairobi. the kenyan military is trying to end a four-day standoff with terrorists who stormed the mall over the weekend. more than 60 people were killed in the attack. some hostages are still believed to be inside the building. the somalia-based terrorist group al-shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. the kenyan government says several americans are among the killers. >> from the informat

they received warnings that al-shabab members were planning suicide attacks at the westgate mall. reports were obtained indicating that operatives weren gauging in a plan on that mall. >> time for a sunday night segment called the week ahead. the federal government is on the verge of a shutdown, congress has until mid night-monday to pass a bill. a sannate will reject the idea tomorrow. also, u.s.-iran relations seem to be thunder storming. hassan rouhani talked on the phone with president obama, the first time leaders of the two countries spoke in 34 years. tomorrow iran will we a wig focus when president obama meets where israel's prime minister benyamin netanyahu at the white house. he has called for pa cautious approach. >> talking about these topics we have two strategists, tom doherty and dan, a democratic strat gift. thank you both for being in. tom, is what the republicans doing a good idea? >> no, it's not a good idea. a government shutdown is never necessarily a good idea. unfortunately, because there's a lack of communication going on between the president, the speaker,

plumes of black smoke and gunfire and explosions from the westgate mall complex. >>> u.s. navy helicopter crashed into red sea, two people onboard are missing right now. the navy officials are saying three people were found in stable condition. and vessels and helicopters are searching for the remaining crew members. the red sea between africa and the arabian peninsula. it was not the result of hostile activity, but it is under investigation. >>> the maryland attorney general is ready to run for governor. his campaign announced he will start his statewide tour norm -- tomorrow and then he will make stops in maryland. brown and heather will be in the race to become maryland's next governor. >>> and speaking of the governor's race. brown picked up another endorsement. the announcement was made yesterday. brown, a democratic has picked howard county executive, as hin running mate. >>> baltimore will travel to pg county on thursday to talk about healthcare. this after the exchange recrated under obama care is open for business. the governor has been among the most aggressive in

>> i am as close as we can get from the westgate shopping mall. you can see the end of the building behind me. cordoned because of the security risks around the building. at this point, it is one third of the building that actually collapsed in the battle between the military and the security forces. the militants and the security forces. also, throughout each day, we have people coming along to witness what has happened. in many cases, they have a personal connection. , who was pastlas chair of the olympics in this country. you lost your site and 1998 bombing of the united states than 200here more people lost their lives. bombing injured in that as you were driving your car past the infancy -- embassy. >>) i lost my side in the 1998 embassy -- site in -- sight in the 1998 embassy bombing. o.came here to >> what did you feel when you this attack and the subsequent siege was taking place? september, i was doing a cycling event. i had just finished the race after being given my trophy. awas told there had been terrorist attack at the westgate mall. i

investigators are still combing through the rubble and destruction to see what's left at the westgate shopping mall. >> reporter: new images of the aftermath of the kenyan mall attack. the parking lot of the westgate shopping mall collapsed after soldiers fired grenades inside, creating a diversion so hostages could escape. among the survivors, this man said he stood frozen as the attackers walked in and is the a security guard in the head. >> i saw the second gunman pointing his rifle at me. i asked why with you want to do this to me. >> reporter: the al qaeda affiliated group al shabaab takes responsibility for the attack. the leader calling it a historic operation and a warning to westerners. the group carefully plotted the attack for months, renting a store on the second floor of the plawl likely to store homemade bombs and automatic weapons. now this supermarket and the rest of the mall are crime scenes, carefully being investigated by forensic experts from around the world and the u.s. 10 suspects are in custody. investigators are not saying who the attackers are or if americans

unrelenting terror -- [ gunfire ] >> reporter: kenyan troops were able to give the thumbs up, the westgate the president said. >> i report with great sadness that 61 civilians lost their lives in the attack. six security officers, also made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the criminals. >> reporter: survivors tell stories of heroism. a new video showed this man, crawling to help rescue a mother and her two children. then running in a crouch to safety. the terrorists seen in this photo challenged hostages to recite the koran saying they only wanted to kill non-muslims. this woman told abc news correspondent she tried to memorize a muslim prayer sent by a relative in hiding. >> i was able to mem rye orize case they found me. >> reporter: five terrorists were killed during the siege with the president saying attackers and civilians are buried under the rubble caused by explosion. >> three floors of the westgate mall collapsed and there are several bodies still trapped in the rubble including the terrorists. >> reporter: while the terrorists were ultimately defeated, the protracted worldwide

these are exclusive photos of the aftermath inside the westgate mall. e kenyan government has confirmed one more suspect was arrested today. 12 others still in police custody. police say more of the attacker mace be on the run after escaping the mall. >>> there was a noticeable amount of security at churches across nairobi today. people entering sunday services were searched. and today a local group of muslim leaders formed a human chain outside the westgate mall to show their respect for the victims and their families. >>> the retrial of amanda knox begins tomorrow in italy. knox was found guilty of killing 21-year-old meredith kercher in 2009, but she won an appeal the 2011 and she was released and she returned to the united states. but the case is being tried again after italy's highest court noted contradictions and interconsistencies in the first trial. knox is not planning to return to florence, but she could be asked to testify via video link. she maintains her innocence in this case. >>> we had a gorgeous sunday >>> we had a gorgeous sunday today

three terrorists killed in the westgate mall terrorist siege announced on twitter. has been a source for a lot of information that's been revealed by kenyan authorities. here's another quote from the kenya defense force saying that a few others have suffered injuries. and more than 200 now in various hospitals. that's coming to us from nairobi, kenya, and zain verjee has been standing by live. it seems to directly refute other statements but from the scene, what are you hearing? >> reporter: i'm hearing that there's no 100% visibility in the situation on the ground in westgate mall, that it's really difficult to be entirely certain that all of the pockets of the militants have been totally removed and that's kind of what the gunfire is all about and trying to clear it out, basically. it's unclear what the situation is, too, with the hostages. when i went to sleep last night the government said there are about ten. but all day long i've been trying to find out about 20 hostages and i'm not getting any answers. so it's unclear to me whether they are being treated up t

the violent hostage crisis at the upscale westgate mall in nairobi is in its the day a security source claims police may have cleared the shopping center of militants however there is still a heavy police presence of the scene a series of explosions and sustained gunfire have been heard in the area with heavy plumes of smoke rising from the shopping center at least two terrorists are confirmed dead and others are said to be injured there sold was launched at midday on saturday by a group of somali al shabaab militants with strong al qaeda connections however multiple media reports that british dutch and american citizens may be among the fighters and investigations been launched into allegations the country's interior minister says the brutal tock has claimed lives of sixty two people many of them foreigners and left at least one hundred seventy injured. and of course we'll bring you more news in just over a minute from now to state. i . write the same. search string. and i think you're. on a record with. a live. mission. critical three. three. three. three. three. golds three ball vid

this is the funeral of a sikh woman and her grandson with many questions of ho how the westgate mall siege came and how it was handled. the answers could be a long time coming. >> for more now on the scene, we're live from nairobi, kenya. are we getting details of how many bodies might be buried in that mountain of republic? >> no, we are not. the government is tight-lipped on how many people were in there at the time of the collapse, or how many bodies are still trapped under the rubble of the three floors that collapsed at the site. what we know is that they are also saying that the minister of interior that the death toll is an official toll of 72 and the number is not going to be significant. however, sources are telling us that the government has asked the red cross to reserve 100 body bags to be used when they get to the rubble. so macabre mission of removing bodies from the site we know there are people who are missing and unaccounted for. and their relatives are looking for them in mortuaries and hospitals across the city. >> thank you, mohammed. >>> the war in syria is now in

. >>> tonight, kenya's army says it's rescued most of the hostages at the westgate shopping mall in nairobi. a two day standoff that killed more than 68 and wounded more than 150. the initial attack happened saturday. the somali militant group al shabaab has claimed responsibility. >> i have to be honest with you, we haven't seen a great deal of movement within the building or on the side streets. personnel carriers moving in and out and it has been very, very quiet from the building itself. it's very difficult to get any kind of confirmed information about what's taking place inside. but clearly the headline is the kenyan military believes that they have secured most of the building and released most of the hostages although again i really want to stress that this is not yet over. there are still clearly hostages in there, and there are still clearly some of the governments, some of the attackers. it is surprising i think that we don't know precise number of the government. -- gunmen. and one of the things the kenyan security services have been criticized for, is not debriefing the victims

moments ago a huge loud explosion rocked the westgate fourth day in that hostage situation. officials say they're looking into a claim by kenya's foreign minister that, quote, two or thrown americans are among the attackers, but they say they have no definitive evidence. kenya forces battled al shabaab overnight. the siege has left 60 dead and 200 injured, including americans. the kenyan government says on twitter it's now in charge of the mall, but a.p. is reporting that al shabaab is tweeting that its militants are, quote, still holding their ground. so it's not clear how many hostages, if any, were treed. smoke rose from the complex well into the night. the kenyan government says more than ten suspects are arrested for questioning, and kenya's president is expected to address the nation today. >>> back here at home, will they or won't they? it's a day of high stakes the the united nations. all eyes are on whether president obama will meet face-to-face with iran's new leader. tracie potts is live in washington. tracie, good morning. this meeting would be the first of its ki

why did al shabaab target the westgate mall? wantsarently, al shabaab to destabilize the country. exclusivete is an mall where wealthy canyons and foreigners go shopping on the weekend. they really wanted to make sure to rip into the heart of the country. the story inowing nairobi, thank you so much. in other news, syria has fulfilled the first requirement towards the instruction of its chemical weapons. damascus has provided information about the poison gas stock to the u.n. chemical weapons organization in the hague. the u.s. and russia gave serious a deadline, until this saturday, to comply. the syrian opposition as swiftly rejected a mediation office from the iranian president. the syrian national coalition lacks credibility because they support assad regime. still ahead, the latest sports action. first, a look at the other stories making the news. 57 iraqis were killed, 70 injured in twin bombings at a shiite funeral in baghdad. authorities believe sunni extremist were behind the attack. violence in a rack has surged this year to levels not seen since 2008. for the first time

overnight, gunfire and explosions once again erupting from the westgate mall. rch for terrorists or hostages that may have still been inside. this, as the first images emerge of what may be the terrorists inside the mall. kenyan officials have not commented on the photo. but they are confirming that the mall was booby-trapped. we are doing cleanup of explosives that had been set up by the terrorists. they sweep, they say, is the final phase of a bloody and intense standoff that came to a head on monday. this video, obtained exclusively by abc news, shows kenyan soldiers fighting to take the mall from its roof and free the remaining hostages, all under a cloud of black smoke and persistent gunfire. this morning, as the signatures at westgate continues to unfold, we're hearing harrowing stories from survivors. >> i we went in the corner. i was telling everybody, bend down. >> reporter: radio host kamal koor said she was hosting a roofing competition at the mall when the terrorists launched their attack saturday afternoon. >> they were climbing on top of the kids t

on the developing story now the violent hostage crisis at the upscale westgate mall in nairobi has and today it said day ten people that still believed to be held by the militants authorities claim police are gaining an advantage over that time and have promised the operation will be over soon saying live pictures from outside the westgate mall in nairobi a series of explosions and sustained gunfire have been heard in the area with heavy plumes of smoke rising from the shopping center and i can phone number of the gunman thought to still be inside with two terrorists confirmed dead and others are said to be injured there so it was launched at midday on saturday by a group of somali al shabaab militants with strong connections the country's interior minister says they were to and has claimed lives of sixty two people many of them foreigners and at least one hundred seventy five people injured. and up next time she travels to an island this is a football field which has become a place of pilgrimage for many russians. the mcmillan family in canada has decided to defy time itself and keep

our starting point is the westgate mall in kenya. >> the westgate mall is unt -- is under attack. >> they are treating this as a terror attackism. >> anything to do with terrorism is done for the purpose of propaganda, an attempt to play people's emotion, influence thinking and perceptions. the terrorists understand news values. >> for the correspondent on the ground covering the siege, the editor trying to make sense of it from london, the academic researching the impact of new media on journalist and the specialist in radical movements around the world, the first thing about the coverage of the nairobi story was the location. the kenyan capital is the de facto media capital of east africa. journalists were already there in big numbers. al-shabab drought the story right to their doorstep. that was day one of the organization's media strategy. >> in some countries in africa journalists have to be deployed from mexico or a country five, six countries ago or from headquarters in another continent. this was different in nairobi, which is why it attracted so much international attention.

kenya has begun three days of mourning for 67 people killed in a siege of the westgate mall in nairobi. the death count could still rise as more bodies are found. the kenyan president declared final victory four days after the attack began. he said at least five attackers were killed by gunfire and 11 others are in custody. al shabaab had gained -- claimed responsibility, calling it retaliation for intervention in somalia. on tuesday, and attack survivor made an appeal not to conflate the actions with the teachings of islam. >> this is not islam. islam is something else altogether. islam is peace, togetherness, humanity. what i saw there was not islam, and if you ever think for a minute that those people represent us, they do not, they ver will, and please, do not let them win by thinking it. >> we will have more on the nairobi mall attack later in the broadcast with jeremy who has been in both somalia and kenya. thedeath toll from earthquake in afghanistan has reached 270. thousands of people were wounded and left homeless. worstpakistan's earthquake since 2005 1 around 75,000 people

>> reporter: the westgate mall is just down the road and around the corner.n there. there have been sporadic burst of gunfire. authorities were trying to sweep through the mall and repeatedly saying they are are in full control of the mall but that seems to be a relative term. we are hearing reports from them they are still trying to track down some of these gunmen that remain holed up inside there. there are various reports, concerns that part of the building might be boobytrappe r and gunmen may still be inside the building. we don't know how many but three have been killed according to kenyan authorities. you were speaking about some of them possibly be americans. the kenyan foreign minister saying that they also appear to be perhaps somalia or arab origin. the u.s. state department saying it is investigating that report. we are continuing to hear stories from those who survived the attack. >> hearing a blast and followed by gunshots and i happened to be very close to the door. i just reached over, grabbed my daughter, just ran out the front door of that c

walled a government report that said there had been recent warnings about a possible attack at the westgate mall. >> [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: also today, a mystery solved. who is the mother seen in this video protecting her children? all of them playing dead until the help arrived? >> the bullet casings dropping near on the floor. you could smell the gun powder. >> reporter: she is now safely home with her son and daughter and husband. she spent 4 1/2 hours on the floor keeping her young children quiet. >> it was absolutely no way to move. now i was praying, god, please protect us and provide a way out for us. >> reporter: they hope to find out who the officer is and thank him for saving the family. >> across the continent now to nigeria where gun men stormed a college campus killing as many as 50 students as they slept. most of the victims in their late teens and early 20s. they say they were islamic militants but say they have no conclusive evidence yet. >>> we turn now to iran after so many years of hostility. when president obama called iran's president on friday, many viewed it as a

. >> reporter: this is the aftermath of the final assault by the attackers on westgate mall. the rear of the building has collapsed. three floors debeneath it caved in, crushing everyone below. the attack came on monday when military helicopters flew close by the building, explosions and gunfire followed. this former army officer now a defense analyst believes the special forces came under such fierce resistence that they resorted to heavier weapon. >> there may have been more firepower used to subdue the terrorists that might have led to the collapse of the building. >> reporter: whatever happens an unknown number of bodies lie buried in the rubble. and the government believes the remaining hostage takers are dead. the inquiry involving foreign agents including the u.s. britain, canada, there is inquiry of why the building collapsed. >> we have also been asked why the building cased in. again, that is a matter to be determined by civil engineers who have since moved to the site. we want to request that once we get information on whether it is the action of the excessive fire

we were in nairobi when we decided to drive across the westgate mall to have our lunch and everythinglly. there didn't appear to be anything out of the usual. we reached the security check to proceed to the rooftop parking. our car was yet to be cleared to proceed that's when we heard gunshots. what i remember, we felt like it was maybe a robbery. so we did pay attention to that. unfortunately, the gunfire intensified for another two or three full minutes and everybody was running in all directions, not sure exactly what was happening. at that point we decided to jump out of our car to run to some safety. and in my mind i knew probably it was a robbery, then they continued shooting, on the main road that leads to the mall. so i didn't run very far away from where the -- we had left our car. and it was at that point i saw again the security guard manning the entrance run in different directions. and i clearly remember one of them ran right next to where i was hiding, like two feet apart. i saw four men walk through the main gate and they were heavily armed because all of them had rifle

as more images of the destruction at nairobi's westgate shopping mall are released... the leader of terror group al-shabab is taking responsibility for the deadly siege there last weekend. saying the attack is payback for the presence of kenyan troops in somalia. godane says: "this operation shocked the kenyan authorities who sent their forces into our homeland and it was a lesson to those western groups who support kenyan intervention in our country, which loots our natural resources, like oil." (audio only/voice of translator) the group ... threatening more violence if kenya keeps a military presence in their nation. godane says: "you will not be able to withstand a long- lasting war in somalia and the calculated attack inside kenya. today take the decision to withdraw your troops out of somalia or prepare for a long-lasting war, blood, destruction and evacuation." (audio only/voice of translator) that warning comes as an international team of investigators - including representatives from the u-s and britain - are helping carry out forensic work to determine exactly

. >> saturday afternoon, shots and explosions are heard inside the busy upscale westgate shopping mall in nairobi, kenya. >> the shoppers are held but gunmen, and unconfirmed reports indicate that several people have been shot. >> eyewitnesss say an unknown number of gunmen burst through the mall from unknown entrances, firing shots at the shoppers. at first, they thought it was a grenade, according to some reports asking people the name of the prophet mohammed's mother, to prove their faith before they exit. >> 18 gunmen believed to be within the westgate, having taken control of the mall right now -- police, as we understand, have been able to gain access of the we do understand the death toll now stands at at least four people. >> reporter: the gunmen moved from store to store, shooting people randomly. hundreds of terrified shoppers try to flee or attempt to hide inside the stores and stair well. many escape however they can. kenyan authorities stormed the mall and pursued the gunmen, who sequestered themselves inside a huge complex with an unknown number of hostages. the standoff

the westgate mall has been the subject of intelligence reports in east africa for a number of years ofmewhat obvious target but clearly wasn't very well defended. >> do you see this as an inflection point for terrorism in africa insofar as we look at the '98 bombing of the u.s. embassy in nairobi which was the opening salvo to of course other terrorist attacks. how much do you think this changes the dynamic in the region, if it does not change the american response? >> enclosuclearly you've gone t, other countries. it's an infliction point if the public lose heart, say what are we doing in somalia, why are we committing our troops. if they pull out of somalia, i think this attack will clearly be incredibly significant. >> mark mazzetti from "the new york times," thank you, as always. >> thank you. >>> coming up, detainee hunger strikes have been a fixture at guantanamo bay since the prison opened, but it now appears that the latest protest is nearly over. as for signs that the facility may close, that is another story. we will discuss pain and progress at gitmo. that's next. la's known

you can see the smoke billowing with the westgate mall in nairobi. there are believed to be 10 to 15 militants inside and some hostages still being held. a kenyan says some of the male attackers are dressed as women. video shows people trying to get out on saturday. journalists outside today heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire. security forces are trying to rescue an unknown number of hostages who are still inside. terrorists from an al qaeda- linked group based in somalia stormed the mall on the weekend killing at least 68 people. more than 175 people were injured. ko im has the latest. >>> reporter: gunshots rang out and ambulances rushed to the scene as smoke billowed from the westgate mall in nairobi, kenya, this morning. police are trying to end the third day of a standoff with terrorists holding hostages. al-shabab a somalia-based terrorist group with ties to al qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack that has killed dozens and wounded more than 175. including several americans. san diego native elaine deng is among those inju

this is the aim of the attacks on westgate shopping center in nairobi. al qaeda is clever in manipulating the media. they did so successfully. there's a surge of al qaeda activities in africa, syria, iraq. i'm not surprised the theories, which was adopted by the american administration that al qaeda is weakened and eroding. it's wrong now. al qaeda proved to them that it is active. there's islamic state in iraq. there's boko haram, there's al-qaeda in north africa, al qaeda in that part of the world. it seems now that there was strategy of saying al qaeda was wrong. i believe now they will revise the strategy and think about the situation, and this is what happened, and nairobi is a warning shot to the americans and other services that al qaeda is back strongly, so i believe the coming months or years will witness more activities of al qaeda and africa. >> thank you abdel for your thoughts. >> the egypt interim government introduced a $2.4 billion plan to fight poverty, reducing public transport costs, reopening some factories, capping the price of fruit

a lot of those answers do remain buried under the rubble at the westgate mall. what may also be providing more information has been the arrest of at least 11 individuals who were mostly detained at the airport. they are being questioned at this point. forensic teams are also currently combing through the rubble at the westgate mall. chris, kate? >> thank you so much, arwa, for that update. amazing that it's now collapsed. >>> there's a lot of news developing at this very hour. let's get straight to michaela for the headlines. >>> we begin in ohio, overnight, the columbus police department headquarters re-opened following an explosion, caused quite a fright there. a loud noise was heard inside the building tuesday eenvening,n fact. during a search early this morning they found the source. a panel on a battery popped off on a construction project. thankfully no reports of injuries. >>> the death foal from the powerful earthquake in southwest pakistan climbing to 208. about 350 others were injured. those numbers could still rise. a provincial official says people ar

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