Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Experts from countries including the UK, the US and Israel are helping Kenyan authorities as the forensic investigation into the Nairobi mall massacre begins.

The death toll, currently at 67, is expected to rise as bodies are retrieved from beneath the rubble of three collapsed floors. Specialists from Canada and Germany are also helping gather evidence and reconstruct what happened when al Shabaab militants stormed the shopping centre on Saturday. Six Britons - including an eight-year-old girl - are among the dead, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned there may be further British victims. A funeral is held for victims Selima Merali and her daughter Nuriana Merali Rumours that a remaining gunman could still be hiding out in the Westgate shopping centre appear to have faded. Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that a "forensic audit" - including fingerprinting, DNA testing and ballistic examination - was expected to last at least seven days. Work to establish the identities of the terrorists is still under way - including whether one of them was a British woman. Kenyan troops stormed the shopping complex Al Shabaab has denied a female was involved. The group also claimed on Wednesday that security forces had carried out "a demolition" of the building during the raid, burying 137 hostages in rubble. A government spokesman denied the claim and said the group was well known for making "wild allegations". It has been speculated that the attack group was made up of several different nationalities. However, US Attorney General Eric Holder has said there is so far no verification that any Americans were involved. Interrogations of the 10 suspects held by Kenyan authorities are also continuing. Five attackers were killed during the siege. People queue to donate blood to help victims of the attack Sky News' Stuart Ramsay, in Nairobi, said at least five of those being held are understood to have been part of the initial attack group which sprayed bullets and escaped the mall. Others in custody are said to be part of the "support group". He also described how some of the attackers tried to escape by taking advantage of the chaos and mixing in with those being evacuated. Ramsay said: "Multiple witnesses have said they saw gunmen put down weapons, change clothes and leave with … people being guided out. "We know of one gentlemen who went to the police and said 'that man was involved in the shooting' - but he was ushered on."

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