More bodies recovered from site of Kenya mall siege

NAIROBI // Several bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of Kenya’s Westgate mall following a brutal attack by Islamist gunmen, police said Wednesday, as searches continued for clues and more victims.

As many as nine bodies have been retrieved from the charred rubble of the mall, some not recognisable in the intense fire that gutted part of the complex.

“Some of the bodies are not recognisable and need DNA testing to get them properly identified, some are badly damaged,” a senior police source said.

It ws not immediately clear if the bodies recovered have already been included in the official toll of 67 — including 61 civilians and six Kenyan troops — or if they could be among the 39 people listed as missing by the Red Cross.

Somalia’s Al Qaeda linked Shabab claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on the shopping mall.

Part of the rooftop parking of the mall collapsed after heavy explosions and a fierce fire, leaving the key area where the insurgents are understood to have made their final stand — along with possible hostages — buried under tonnes of concrete slabs and rubble.

In addition, Kenyan officials have said five attackers were killed, but it is not clear if all — or any — of those bodies have been recovered.

Families of those missing have been called to the central mortuary to provide DNA samples to help identify unclaimed bodies, officials said.

* Agence France-Presse