Kenya President: Mall Terrorists Have Been Defeated

Update 1:05 p.m. via Associated Press: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says security forces have finally defeated a small group of terrorists after four days in fighting at a Nairobi mall.

In a televised address to the nation Tuesday, Kenyatta said "we have ashamed and defeated our attackers."

He said the attack had left 240 casualties, including 61 dead civilians and six of his security forces. He said five terrorists were killed and another 11 suspects have been taken into custody.

The president says three floors of the Westgate mall collapsed and that there are "several bodies still trapped in the rubble including the terrorists."

He declared three days of national mourning.

12 p.m.: Militant fighters continue to hold hostages inside an upscale Nairobi mall, four days after entering the shopping plaza armed with grenades and automatic weapons. So far, 62 people are confirmed dead and another 175 are wounded.

Kenyan authorities say they're mounting their final push to clear out the remaining rebels, though they've made the same statement several times over the last two days.

Machine gun fire could still be heard at the scene today. The sheer size of the mall, which includes multiple banks with secure vaults and glass-proof partitions, as well as a casino, have made the rescue more difficult.

The government has said that at least 10 hostages remain on site, and the Kenyan foreign minister has said that "two or three Americans" are among the attackers.

The attack, the most deadly in Kenya since 1998, is thought to be the the work of al-Shabab, an extremist Islamist force that grew out of the anarchy in Somalia after the long-time dictator was ousted in 1991.

Al Shabab said it carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia.