Kenyan military caused massive mall collapse, official says

Kenya’s military caused the massive collapse of three floors of Nairobi’s Westgate mall during the siege of al-Shabab, in which at least 67 civilians and security personnel were killed, a top-ranking government official said.

When asked Friday if military action against the hostage takers caused the collapse, the official answered, “Yes.”

The official also confirmed that Kenyan troops fired rocket-propelled grenades inside the mall but would not say what caused the collapse. He insisted on anonymity because he was sharing sensitive information that had not been officially released.

Four huge explosions rocked the mall, then dark smoke poured from the building Monday, when the floors probably collapsed.

It is believed the collapse helped bring an end to the four-day siege, but it may also have killed any hostages inside.

Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said at a news briefing Friday that there were no formal reports of people still missing since the attack. The Kenyan Red Cross previously said dozens remained missing.

Lenku also said that authorities were holding eight people in connection with the attack and that three others who had been held were released.

Autopsies of the bodies under the rubble will show if those people were killed in the collapse or were slain earlier by the gunmen.

Investigators have recovered a vehicle believed to have been used by the attackers, a top Kenyan government official said Friday.

They are also building a profile of a man who warned a pregnant woman at the mall to flee for safety moments before Saturday’s attack, he said.

Investigators are tracing the car’s ownership after it was retrieved outside the mall, the official said, asking to remain anonymous because he was not allowed to reveal such details while the investigation is open.

Kenyan police have given little information since the shocking attack, saying the investigation has only just begun.

It will take investigators at least a week to comb through the rubble of the mall, Lenku said Wednesday.

Al-Qaeda-linked Somali rebel group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Kenya is a legitimate target because it has sent its troops to Somalia to fight the group.

It is possible that some of the attackers escaped during the evacuation of civilians from the mall in Nairobi’s Westlands neighborhood, the high-ranking official told AP Friday.

The government says the fatalities in the assault included 61 civilians and six security forces. Five attackers were also killed, but questions remain about the fate of the remaining attackers, and fears persist that some managed to escape.

Al Jazeera and wire services