Kenya mall siege 'over' but death toll unclear

Bodies in rubble

Police said the attackers, who devastated restaurants and shops at a busy Saturday lunchtime, spraying bullets and grenades at Kenyans and foreigners, were now either dead or in custody.

"Now it is for the forensic and criminal experts," said a police spokesman, Masoud Mwinyi.

Some of the 63 people reported to the Red Cross as still missing may simply not have been at the mall, or may have later made it home without the agency being made aware. But some, at least, appear to have been held hostage.

"There are several bodies trapped in the rubble, including the terrorists," Kenyatta said. At the weekend, he had said there were between 10 and 15 militants holed up in the mall.

Several foreigners of many nationalities have already been named among the dead. The mall was a favourite with expatriates.

It is unclear how many foreigners may still be missing.

Survivors of the assault told tales of horror and narrow escapes. Some made it out after hours, even days, of hiding in terror. The uncle of one British four-year-old told the Sun newspaper his nephew had told a militant "You're a very bad man", as the gunman let some children and their mother go.

Officials said the raiders had set a major fire on Monday in a supermarket. On Tuesday, a thin trail of smoke drifted into a soggy sky as darkness fell, the result, rescue volunteers said, of soldiers detonating locked doors in a search for militants.

Police let some people retrieve cars they left behind when shoppers fled in panic. Journalists and others were kept well away behind a security cordon.