Graphic Photos Of Nairobi Deadly Mall Attack: Somali Islamist Terrorist Group Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility

Customers run following a shootout between unidentified armed men and the police at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi

The spokesperson for Somalia's Al-Shabaab militant group, Robow Abu Mansur (centre)

In Nairobi, in a single biggest assault attack in Kenya since 2002, gunmen that claims to be Somali Islamist group Al Shabaab stormed one of Kenya's biggest shopping mall in its capital Nairobi on Saturday, killing at least 30 people including children and sending scores fleeing in panic. The gunmen were barricaded inside a Nakumatt supermarket, one of Kenya's biggest chains.

Al Shabaab, which is battling Kenyan and other African peacekeepers in Somalia, had repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi does not pull its troops out of the Horn of Africa country.

Al Shabaab through its official Twitter handle @HSMPress tweeted "There will be no negotiations whatsoever at #Westgate." and further said... "The Kenyan govt (government) is pleading with our Mujahideen (holy warriors) inside the mall for negotiations,"

Another al-Shabaab tweet read: "For long we have waged war against the Kenyans in our land, now it's time to shift the battleground and take the war to their land."

Let me take you on memory ride; Al Qaeda's East Africa cell bombed the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people. In 2002, the same militant cell attacked an Israeli-owned hotel and tried to shoot down an Israeli jet in a coordinated attack. Al Shabaab is aligned with Al Qaeda.

Kenyan forces first entered Somalia two years ago to try to stem incursions by al Qaeda-linked militants. See graphic pics of the attack after the cut.......

People scramble for safety as armed police hunt gunmen who went on a shooting spree at Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi

A policeman takes up position during a shootout with armed men at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi

Armed police search through a shopping centre for a gunman in Nairobi

An armed police searches through a shopping centre for gunmen in Nairobi

A journalist rescues a woman injured in a shootout between armed men and the police at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi

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