肯尼亞官員：從遇襲商廈中救出大部分人質

Kenya says only a few hostages remain inside the Nairobi shopping mall stormed by Islamist militants Saturday. Dozens of people have been killed in the attack.

The Somali terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the assault -- saying it was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

Kenyan forces began an assault on the Westgate Mall late Sunday to rescue people hiding from or held captive by the gunmen.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told a news conference Monday that Kenyan forces now control every floor of the mall and have rescued most of the remaining hostages.

He said two gunmen had been killed in the ongoing military operation, and 10 members of the security forces wounded.

Lenku spoke about 90 minutes after witnesses heard several large explosions coming from the mall, followed by the sound of gunfire. A column of thick, black smoke continued to rise from the mall after the blasts. Lenku said the militants set mattresses on fire as a distraction.

He said 62 people have been killed since the assault began Saturday. The Kenyan Red Cross put the death toll at 69, with 175 people wounded and at least 65 missing.肯尼亞當局說，只有幾名人質還留在內羅畢的商廈中。伊斯蘭激進分子上星期六襲擊了這個商廈，造成幾十人死亡。

索馬里恐怖主義組織青年黨宣稱對襲擊事件負責。他們說，這是爲了對肯尼亞出兵干預索馬里事務進行報復。

肯尼亞軍隊星期天對西門商廈發起進攻，以救出躲藏在裏面的或是被綁架的平民。肯尼亞內務部長倫庫星期一在記者會上說，肯尼亞軍隊已控制了商廈的所有樓層，救出了大部分人質。他說，有兩名武裝分子被擊斃，10名肯尼亞安全部隊成員受傷。

倫庫在記者會上發表了一個半小時的講話。之前目擊者聽到商廈內傳出巨大的爆炸聲和槍聲。爆炸後，商廈裏冒出黑煙。倫庫說，激進分子點燃了牀墊，以分散注意力。他說，星期六襲擊開始以來，已有62人死亡。肯尼亞紅十字會說，死亡人數爲69人，175人受傷，至少65人失蹤。