cnn's zain verjee lives very close to the mall in nairobi where this happened. she joins us live. zain. >> reporter: hi. west gate mall is still under sage. it's been about 24 hours since the attack. we heard a short while ago from a senior kenyan government source as well as western diplomatic source that at least 30 hospitals are being held in west gate mall. joining me is a spokesperson for statehouse. what can you tell us about what's happening at west gate right now? >> the emergency security operation is continuing. we have special forces out there. the attempt at the moment is to clear the mall floor by floor to make sure they rescue as many people as possible, get them out of the building because that remains our priority, to get people out alive and not to put anyone in the line of fire. >> reporter: what do you know, what can you tell us about the condition of the hostages themselves? >> we are unable to say their condition. people getting out have been coming out overnight, some of them were able to communicate with security agents over that period which helped them to b

. >> i'm not sure -- we're trying to get zain verjee. i'm not sure whether we have her or not on the scene. i'm sorry? okay. we're having trouble bringing her up. we know the outlines of this and one of the things we know is that there are israeli special forces on the ground. can you interpret that for me? >> they have a history of helping kenyans on counterterrorism. to some degree that's natural. they have tremendous experience dealing with similar situations to this hostage situation. i imagine the kenyans are happy to have the help. there was israeli ownership of the mall as well. >> in sense of working together, there is a history between kenyan military and israeli military? >> there is. because there have been other attacks in kenya against israeli interests. you may remember a couple years ago they tried to shoot at an israeli airliner trying to come in. they missed thankfully. they've tried this before. now they've had some success. >> we do have zain verjee on the ground for us in nairobi. can you tell me what's happening on t

cnn's zain verjee is standing by live. zain, give us an indication of what they actually mean by, we're in charge of the situation. because from an outside perspective, it does not look like anyone's in charge. >> reporter: i spoke to officials here about that and what i'm being told is, they feel that they, along with the israeli special forces are in charge of the westgate mall. however, there are pockets of gunmen and pockets that they do not have under control and that's the reason you had this recent gunfire and also the smoke that's been billowing over the skies and buildings here, they are telling me that it's coming from a fire fight now in front of the grocery store. and this is happening on the second floor. they said it was partly the mattresses that the terrorists were burning as some kind of a distraction but also that is where some of the fighting has been concentrated. now, it's really difficult to get a clear visibility into it because there were so many people involved in this operation, including where i'm

. >> zain verjee is live in nairobi, kenya, where that drama goes on. good morning, zain. >> reporter: good morning, carol. the government is saying that they are in control of westgate mall and that they have evacuated most of the hostages. now, westgate mall is about four stories high, and to be in control of it is a vast amount of space. we continue to see smoke rising carol but it's not exactly clear what is the source. there's a lot of speculation about it but we do know there is an operation that is still ongoing. as far as the hostages go, carol, normally they would come here because this is where the emergency triage area is. i spoke to the people in charge here and they said no hostages have come except for one woman that was released, and she seemed to be okay. they said she was walking and then japanese friend or counterpart took her away and she just left. so that's the latest from the situation here. there are still many questions. the government is saying that they have it, they're in control, but there's a concern that there may have been

let's get to cnn's zain verjee in kenya with the latest. zain? >> reporter: hi.cle again and we've seen a third plume of smoke in the sky just a short while ago. initially officials had said the major blum of smoke was because it was from the terrorists that were trying to put a fire out using ma trepss. it's unclear what exactly has triggered that. they say they're in the building and in control. they say they've cleared all the floored, these two be ieds, mines, some explosive devices that the kenyan forces along with the israelis are clearing but we don't know that for sure. there are many questions unanswered. officials are saying almost all the hostages have been evacuated but it's unclear whether those could have been people hiding or they were able to release or actual hostages. they are not bringing anyone here anymore. they're taking them straight to a triage area that has been set up near westgate. we also have questions about did anyone escape, were there militants, gunmen, gun inwell, there are ma gunwomen and things are tense despite the government s

our own zain verjee. watch this. she had to take cover as she was getting ready for a report earlier today. >> do we have the helmets? where is the helmet? [ shots ] >> she's joining us now live from nairobi. zain, kenyan authorities claim they have taken control of the mall from where you are and you're there on the scene for us, do you get a sense they actually are in control of the situation right now? >> reporter: they made a statement earlier saying yes, they're in control of the four-story west gate mall. a short while later, there was sporadic gunfire and everybody had to take cover. i made some calls about that. what i was told was that yes, they were in control, however, at that moment there were pockets of al qaeda or al shabaab and they were fighting back. there was heavy gunfire exchanges between the security forces and the militants. since then, woclf, it's been a number of hours, totally silent, both gunfire, no explosions and also total silent on information. we're trying to put together and get clarif

zain verjee is with us now with what your sources are telling you. zain?e a short while ago to a senior kenyan government source who said 30 people are now dead, at least 100 injured. one gunman has been wounded and several others have been pinned down. this is an ongoing situation. many people have been able to leave westgate mall. i understand that there are hostage being taken by some of the gunmen there. but it's unclear who exactly they are. i asked about nationalities to a spokesperson a short while ago who told me that it's unclear the nationalities of those who have been killed or injured, but the majority of the casualties are kenyans. fredericka? >> and zain, are your sources saying anything more about how many gunmen? we heard from a few eyewitnesses earlier, and one reported with an australian outlet saying that they thought maybe, like, ten gunmen may be vol involved? what are your sources telling you in >> reporter: the gunmen, i understand, were able to force their way into westgate mall. you know, fredericka, this is a mall where there's a

. >>> our own zain verjee and her crew had to take cover while preparing to report. bout to go there on cnn international. at least 62 have been killed, 170 wounded. let's bring in zain live from the scene. things changing fast, moment by moment. update us on the situation right now. >> reporter: right now everything appears calm and quiet. the smoke doesn't seem to be as thick as it was. there's been no gunfire. the helicopters have stopped. the kenyan officials have said repeatedly to me privately and publicly, it's going to be over soon. tonight we're going to wrap it up, it will be over and we're fully in control. they continue to insist that's the case and that they have removed the pockets of resistance and the shabaab and al qaeda militants that were still inside west gate mall. one interesting development michael over the last five minutes or so, i'm standing in position at the community center area that's kind of been a base for a lot of the operations, especially for the medics. and they're planning to wrap up operations here in the next few hours. so i aske

zain verjee is live at the scene in nairobi. zain, what can you tell us about the ongoing hostage situation. >> reporter: we're getting not a whole lot of information, because it's an ongoing hostage situation and they don't want to compromise any details of the operation. fred, what we heard a few hours ago were a little bit of shooting and one big explosion. and since then, there's been pretty much silence. we've heard a few ambulances going back and forth. now, where i'm located here, it's just about a five or ten-minute walk away from the west gate mall. and this is basically a red cross headquarters. you know, there's a triage center here and people have been ferrying water and food. and there's a real sense of urgency that something might be happening. some casualties might be coming. and everyone just jumped as soon as they get a radio signal in from west gate. there's no way that anyone can get unless they're not red cross or approved by the military. no persons allowed, no civilians allowed. there are snipers, also, repo

. >> zain verjee joins us now live from nairobi. what more are we hearing from kenya's president?ore do we know about the attack? is it over? is it continuing? what's the latest? >> reporter: as we say in swahili here, it's over. the president said a while ago, wolf, that the terrorists have been defeated. he said five terrorists were killed with gunfire. there are 11 suspects that have been arrested in connection with the four-day siege. also this is important. he said reports that a british woman and two to three u.s. citizens that were involved in this attack are being investigated. he said he cannot confirm this yet and forensic teams are out to try to figure out whether or not that's the case. the implication being that they're doing these forensic tests because these people could be deceased. we're going to wait to hear more information about that and see what happens. there will be three days of mourning. wolf, kenyans here are really relieved that he came out and said it. he was supposed to make a statement a while ago, but they had to be really confident that it was reall

zain verjee on the ground in kenya, thank you. been a long few days for zain who is home in nairobi. thank you. >>> i don't know if you saw it, but our christiane amanpour scored the big one, the interview of iran's president. and wouldn't you know it, he had a shout out for america. you're going to hear it in english in a moment. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead. ♪ load! we keep moving to deliver what you need. and that means growth, lots of cargo going all around the globe. cars and parts, fuel and steel, peas and rice, hey that's nice! ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ >>> so christiane amanpour scored an interview with hassan rouhani. remarkably, he spoke to her in english and, guess what, he spoke to the rest of us as well. have a listen. >> i would like to say to american people, i bring peace a friendship from

the white woman question is something that's on everyone's minds here, but there's no answer. >> zain verjee for us outside the shopping mall in nairobi. zain, thank you. as gunshots rang out, people ran. desperate to get as far from the mall as possible, but one man was running against the crush of people, running toward the mall. tyler hicks is a photographer for the "new york times." and he happened to be near nairobi's westgate mall when the gunmen opened fire. i just want to share with you some of these amazing photos that hicks took, and hear what he told cnn about what it was he saw. >> reporter: i happened to be close by to westgate mall when the violence broke out. and as i approached the mall, i could see lots of people running away. and as i got closer, it was clear that there were people who had been shot. i saw people who had been shot in the stomach and in the leg. dozens of injuries streaming out among just terrified civilians. i continued to move along carefully along the front of the mall, where i saw three men who had been killed just at the front entrance of the mall. one

zain verjee reporting from kenya. nicole is a journalist who managed to get inside the mall shortly after terrorists struck and documented the bloody attack. she is joining us on phone from israel, where she is on assignment. tell us what happened. you heard from your husband, who is a photographer for the "new york times." what was going on? pick up the story. what did you do? >> reporter: well, i actually called him to let him know what was going on. i had heard word of what was happening, checked in with the nairobi bureau, then gathered my protective gear and cameras and got down to the scene as quickly as possible. once i arrived there, i quickly realized that it was pretty serious, there were people running out of the mall holding each other, crying, and as i got closer, i saw some ad hoc first aid stations set up, strangers trying to help each other into any cars, getting injured victims on their way to the hospital as soon as possible. >> and you were courageous enough to go inside. were security forces alread

zain verjee is there. set the scene of what is happening around it and who is there trying to get the hostages out of the mall. >> reporter: well, westgate mall is a short distance behind me. the media has been moved back because they are concerned about security reasons or if they went live the hostage takers could see what was happening on tv and figure things out. this huge yellow crane just drove by and it's going up to the mall, so we are not sure if that's is going to be used in any kind of operation, and right now, 59 people dead, and from sources adding to that, there could be as many as 30 hostages. we don't know their condition. when you talk to people here and read the newspapers, and you just hear stories of horror, of escape, how people were hiding, and one person hiding in the vault of a bank and running to find any cover we could. we couldn't believe it, but my aunt was one of them. listen to what she said. >> all of a sudden we heard some shots and people rushing and we realized we were und

our zain verjee is in nairobi, a place she used to call home. her family still lives there. been hearing it all wrap up for a couple of days now. what signs are there really that this could be coming to an end? >> reporter: well, it ain't over till it's over, right? sources here have been saying for a while now that they are in full control of westgate mall. then they said, well, we've got to do some sweeps still. we've got to clear it. what we saw today, they said they were defusing explosives. the bomb squad went in. we're still hearing on and off gunfire. one of the indications that's giving us a sense that this may actually really be over is the fact that the president of kenya is expected to make a statement. now the thing is, he was expected to make it once and then twice. it got delayed and delayed again. we're standing by to see what he says. because, guys, there's a lot of unanswered questions here. there's no real clarity on what's happened to the hostages. are they dead? are they alive? were the hostages actually released, like the government says? did they fight t

shared their story with cnn describing the horror as shot were faired including the aunt of cnn's zain verjee shots coming from every direction. >> we heard some shots and people rushing, so we rushed to the back of the supermarket and hid ourselves, trying to get anything that would save us in a random shooting because we heard random shots all over the place. and it was quite terrifying. in fact, we even heard shots 30 feet from us. and at one stage i saw them come near us. it was just so worrying and people praying and crying. and it was rather traumatizing for everybody. and at one stage we heard that there were terrorists, that they were holding hostages and that they were all over the mall and holding people and shooting coffee -- people having coffee, lunch and it was just a random shooting and lots of people were hurt. and we were stuck in the same place for over two hours. and this was on the ground floor of this supermarket. and finally after two hours, a security guy came and told us that it was safe for us to go. so hurriedly we left and we saw lots of blood, sandals and shoe flun

. >> zain verjee in new yoairobi s as the president has declared this standoff is officially over. >>> next, did a concert promoter contribute to michael jackson's death? jurors have heard both sides. now the closing arguments begin today. we're getting our very first look inside this court. you'll hear it live. >>> plus, two teenage girls missing more than 40 years, but today a huge discovery could break this cold case wide open. back in a moment. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day. he was a matted mess in a small cage. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates