UPDATED: Nairobi death toll
Updated 2.55pm
At least 62 people have been killed and others are still being held hostage in an upmarket shopping centre in Nairobi, popular with expats and tourists.
It has been confirmed that four Britons are among those killed. The number of casaulties has been amended from 68 to 62 as some bodies were counted twice, according to the Red Cross.
Kenya’s tourism chiefs have issued a statement in a bid to calm fears, particularly as two major travel industry conferences are taking place in Nairobi this week.
A ‘major’ military operation was launched last night that rescued "most" of the hostages, who were suffering from dehydration, following a two-day standoff.
Military spokesman Col Cyrus Oguna said about 10 hostages were still in the part of the building controlled by the militants.
Others may still be hiding inside, he said, and more bodies could be discovered as the building is cleared.
The building, which has been cordoned off, is in the heart of the Westlands district, home to wealthy Kenyans and expatriate Westerners, many working for the United Nations.
"The incident is still ongoing, with reports of a number of casualties and hostages. Armed Kenyan security forces are on the scene," said the UK Foreign Office.
"We advise British nationals to avoid the area and exercise extreme caution."
Concerned British nationals are advised to contact the FCO helpline on +44 (0)20 7008 0000 and to keep monitoring travel advice.
The attack is believed to have been orchestrated by a Somali-based militant group, al-Shabaab, in response to Kenyan military operations in Somalia.
It began at about midday local time (9am GMT) on Saturday, when a group of 10-15 armed attackers stormed the Westgate centre, throwing grenades and firing automatic weapons
According to some witnesses, the militants told Muslims to leave and said non-Muslims would be targeted.
A children’s event was being held at the time and children are among those reported killed.
The attack is the latest blow to Kenya, which relies heavily on tourism. Some 185,967 British nationals visited Kenya in 2012.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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