Westgate shopping mall attack

Westgate shopping mall attack
Part of the War in Somalia and Terrorism in Kenya
Smoke over Westgate shopping mall on 23 September 2013
Date 21 September 2013 – 24 September 2013 Location Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya 1°15′25″S 36°48′12″E / 1.25694°S 36.80333°E / -1.25694; 36.80333 Result Crisis ended 71 Killed Friendly fire incident kills a police unit commander and injures two more Partial collapse of the Westgate Mall
Belligerents
Al-Shabaab	Kenya Kenya Defence Forces Kenya Police Service Administration Police National Intelligence Service (Kenya) General Service Unit (Kenya) Supported by: United States
Commanders and leaders
Ahmed Godane Adam Garaar Abu Baara al Sudani[*] Omar Nabhan [*] Umayr al-Mogadish[*] Khattab al-Kene[*]	Uhuru Kenyatta William Saiya Aswenje Julius Waweru Karangi Grace Kaindi
Units involved
Unknown	Kenya Army Infantry
Strength
4 fighters	Unknown
Casualties and losses
4 killed	: 5 killed, 12 wounded
62 civilians killed, 163 wounded
* Al Shabaab leaders subsequently killed in retaliatory air-strikes (per Kenya's military).

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Recent history 2002 Kenyan general election Mwai Kibaki 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis Raila Odinga 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum Operation Linda Nchi Westgate shopping mall attack 2014 Mpeketoni attacks Presidency of Mwai Kibaki Uhuru Kenyatta William Ruto Garissa University College attack October 2017 Kenyan presidential election 2018 Kenya handshake COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya Presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta
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On 21 September 2013, four masked gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping mall, an upmarket mall in Nairobi,^[1] Kenya. There are conflicting reports about the number killed in the attack, since part of the mall collapsed due to a fire that started during the siege.^[2] The attack resulted in 71 total deaths,^[3] including 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers, and all four gunmen. Approximately 200 people were wounded in the massacre.

The militant Islamist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it characterised as retribution for the Kenyan military's deployment in the group's home country of Somalia following Operation Linda Nchi from 2011 to 2012.

Kenyan authorities arrested dozens of people in the aftermath of the attack, but had not announced any suspects directly related to the siege. On 4 November 2013, a Kenyan court charged four Somali nationals with harbouring the gunmen in their homes, with each pleading not guilty.^[4]

On 20 September 2015, Foreign Policy magazine reported the Westgate attack on 21 September lasted several hours, with the last victim killed before special Kenyan security forces entered the mall.^[5][6] The mall was officially declared secured on 24 September.