A brazen terrorist attack in a Nairobi shopping mall Saturday has left at least 39 people dead and more than 150 wounded, CNN is reporting.
Several British and American citizens are among the injured, but the majority of casualties are Kenyans, authorities told CNN. Some are children.
The attack appeared designed to achieve maximum global impact by targeting a place frequented by Westerners as well as Kenyans.
France said two of its citizens were dead, the U.S. State Department said it had reports that American citizens had been injured, and Britain said its nationals had undoubtedly been affected.
The al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Westgate Mall, and they are still holding 36 people hostage while surrounded by police. "They Kenyan govt is pleading with our Mujahideen inside the mall for negotiations. There will be no negotiations whatsoever,"the group posted on Twitter.
As you'd expect, photographs taken at the scene are frightening. A normally bustling mall was turned into a battle zone as militants and police have continued to exchange gunfire throughout the day.
Here's what we're seeing:
SEE ALSO: A NY Times Photographer happened to be close by the attack, and took even more powerful photos