Kenya Stand-Off: Explosions In Renewed Assault

Kenyan troops are carrying out a major assault in an attempt to end the stand-off with al Shabaab gunmen inside the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

At least three loud explosions and heavy gunfire have been heard coming from the complex where 69 people, including three Britons, have died since the siege began on Saturday.

There have also been reports of ambulances being driven at high speed from the scene.

One of the Britons killed in the attack, which was launched on Saturday, has been named in reports as Ross Langdon, who had dual nationality with Australia.

An architect, he apparently died alongside his girlfriend who was heavily pregnant, according to Australian media.

Ross Langdon is feared to be among those killed

The Kenyan Defence Force said on its Twitter feed it was making every effort to bring the situation "to a speedy conclusion".

It said it has secured most of the shopping centre, and many of the hostages have been rescued.

Officials say up to 15 al Shabaab militants may still be inside the centre. They have threatened to kill the remaining hostages.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said the operation to end the stand-off was complicated and could take some time.

"We have been told that some of the hostage-takers are in a section of the building with bullet-proof glass … so it's obviously very difficult (for the Kenyan forces)," he said.

Ramsay said he had seen soldiers moving along the perimeter of the centre and heard the sound of guns being fired inside.

Kenyan soldiers enter the main gate of the shopping centre

"A few minutes later an ambulance came out and the driver gave us a thumbs- up. There's obviously a battle of sorts taking place inside."

Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna told Sky News: "We do not negotiate with terrorists and that position has not changed. Everyone who has been rescued is being checked to make sure none of the terrorists escaped during the dragnet."

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said there have been "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" to help end the stand-off, but that for now it remains a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source has confirmed that Israeli agents "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Westgate shopping complex is part Israeli-owned.

Britain's SAS is also reportedly helping out in an advisory role.

A Kenyan army soldier takes cover behind a wall near the centre

The Kenyan Red Cross says 69 people have been killed, at least 63 remain missing and around 200 have been injured. Five of these are said to be from the US.

Police have conceded the number of dead could be "much, much higher", after reports emerged that there are multiple fatalities still inside the shopping centre.

The Foreign Office confirmed three Britons were among those killed and warned that number was likely to rise.

Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short a visit to Balmoral to chair a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra in London later today. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will chair a meeting of Cobra this morning.

Mr Cameron has described the attack on the shopping complex as "despicable" and an act of "appalling brutality".

Onlookers watch as the stand-off continues at the Westgate complex

Also killed were two Canadians, two French citizens, two Indian citizens, a South Korean, a South African, a Dutch woman and the former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor.

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that a female British terror suspect nicknamed the "White Widow" could be linked to the plot.

Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Ramsay said: "We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attack in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

Briton Samantha Lewthwaite: Is she involved?

"Interestingly she has been used in the past with planning and propaganda, not actual assaults, although there is some evidence she has been linked to at least one.

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her. The government have said there have been reports of more than one woman involved.

"Al Shabaab is thought to consist of foreign nationals as well as people from Somalia. I've heard reports of one Briton being involved and someone from Canada as well."

Security forces have taken control of the upper and lower levels of the shopping complex, and an army spokesman told Sky News they were trying to secure the second floor where the terrorists may be hiding.

Other reports suggested the attackers were holed up in a toilet block next to a supermarket on the ground floor of the complex.

The Somalia-based al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility and warned of further attacks.

Mr Kenyatta said one of his nephews and his nephew's fiancee were among the people confirmed killed.

"They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts," the president said in an emotional speech to the nation. "We will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully."

The attack is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 people in 1998.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have adjourned the trial of Kenyan vice president William Ruto for a week to allow him to return home and help deal with the hostage crisis.

Ruto and Mr Kenyatta face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to their role in coordinating a wave of violence that swept Kenya in the aftermath of the country's contested 2007 elections.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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