“This will end tonight. Our forces will prevail. Kenyans are standing firm against aggression, and we will win.”
“Kenyan forces say they rescued ‘most’ hostages,” by Jason Straziuso and Tom Odula for the Associated Press, September 22:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) “” Kenyan’s military said late Sunday it had rescued “most” of the remaining hostages held by al-Qaida-linked militants in an upscale Nairobi mall after launching a major operation to end a two-day standoff that had already killed 68 people.
The military assault, which began shortly before sundown, came as two helicopters circled the mall, with one skimming very close to the roof. A loud explosion rang out, far larger than any previous grenade blast or gunfire volley.
Kenyan police said on Twitter that a “MAJOR” assault by had started to end the bloody siege.
“This will end tonight. Our forces will prevail. Kenyans are standing firm against aggression, and we will win,” Kenya’s National Disaster Operation Centre said on Twitter.
Kenya Defence Forces later said it had rescued most hostages and had taken control of most of the mall.
Many of the rescued hostages “” mostly adults “” were suffering from dehydration, Col. Cyrus Oguna, a military spokesman, told The Associated Press. Oguna refused to release the number of hostages rescued or those still being held. He said some of the attackers had “most probably” been killed in the operation, which began in the morning and culminated in the evening.
The assault came about 30 hours after 10 to 15 al-Shabab extremists stormed the mall Saturday from two sides, throwing grenades and firing on civilians….