The number of Indians killed in Westgate mall terror attack in Kenya has risen to three, with one more body identified as that of an Indian national, even as the total death toll touched 62
The third Indian has been identified as Sudharshan B Nagaraj from Bangalore, the spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi today.
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A lady runs with her child in Westgate mall in Nairobi.Pic: AFP u00a0
Earlier, two Indians, including an 8-year-old boy, were declared dead in the attack on Westgate, an upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which started on Saturday. They were identified as 40-year-old Sridhar Natarajan, employee of a pharmaceutical firm, and Paramshu Jain, son of a manager of the local Bank of Baroda branch.
The Kenyan authorities said 62 people have been killed in attack by heavily-armed al-Qaeda-linked Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militants, the deadliest assault since al-Qaeda bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, leaving over 200 people dead.
Four Indians, including two women and a girl, were among nearly 200 people injured in the attack on the part Israeli- owned Westgate centre. At least 11 Kenyan troops were also wounded in the clashes, reports said.
The injured Indians are Natarajan's wife Manjula Sridhar, Paramshu Jain's mother Mukta Jain, 12-year-old Poorvi Jain and Natarajan Ramachandran, an employee of Flamingo Duty Free.
Meanwhile, Kenyan special troops are battling one or two militants still holed up inside the mall, even as the interior ministry said forces are in "full control" of the situation.
A government spokesman said the Westgate siege was near an end, as the crisis entered its fourth day today. Kenyan army chief Julius Karangi said the terrorists involved in the attack were of different countries.
Echoing Karangi's view, Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said among the militants were two or three American men, who appeared to be of Somali or Arab origin, and a British woman.
"From the information that we have, two or three Americans, and I think so far I have heard of one Brit." The Briton was a woman, Mohamed told US public broadcaster PBS.
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