Source: Youtube/Channel4News

A New Zealander and an Australian were among the victims of a bloody massacre at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenya mall attack claimed the lives of at least 68 people with 175 more injured.

One of the victims was a Kiwi 34-year-old man, Andrew McLaren. The native from Hastings was injured from the Kenya attack. Mr McLaren was at the Westgate shopping mall when the bloodbath occurred on Sept 21. The gunmen, believed to have links with terrorist group al-Qaeda, tossed grenades that killed people and injured several others in a crowded mall.

Elaine McLaren, mother of Kiwi victim, said she was worried about the injuries her son had suffered. She received news that her son was in a stable condition. Ms McLaren has not been able to talk to her son yet, but if the need arises, she said is ready to go to Kenya.

Mr McLaren has been working in Kenya since 2011 as operations manager of a natural health products company, Olivado.

An Australian man was killed in the Kenya attack. ABC reported that the man was an architect who studied at the University of Tasmania. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia, the family of the massacred victim has asked for privacy. The name of the Australian victim will be withheld at the family's request.

Australians currently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, were contacted by Acting Foreign Minister Andrew Robb and advised them to stay away from crowded places.

The Australian government has condemned the Kenya mall attack and viewed it as terrorist activity. The government extended the nation's deep regret to the families and friends of those who were killed.

Kenya attack a shock

Police in Kenya moved to end the two-day terrorist attack at Nairobi's upscale mall on Sept 22. The death toll has risen to 68. Authorities believe that some 40 people were still trapped inside the mall complex.

New gunfire exchange and an explosion can be heard from the scene as Kenyan police was set to begin a final push to finally end the reign of terror inside the Westgate mall.

According to the Kenyan military, its forces have freed most of the people taken hostage inside the mall, but no exact figure was provided.

The gunmen had stormed three mall entrances at the same time on Sept 21. Gunfire blasted through cafes while a grenade was thrown on the rooftop parking lot. Another group of terrorists opened fire in the basement garage.

A French man who survived the attack said he heard one gunman shout "Allahu akbar!" which means "God is great" in Arabic, before he shot the diners at the café.

The attackers in the Kenya mall identified themselves as the al-Shabaab, a militant group based in Somalia that has threatened Kenya for retaliation because it sent troops to help the Somali government fight the rebels.

One witness, Edwin Omoding, who worked as a stocker in the mall supermarket said he saw three women among the 20 gunmen. He said they were not there to steal but to kill.

The Westgate mall shooting was the deadliest attack in Kenya since the U.S. embassy was bombed in 1998.

Source: Youtube/KTNKenya

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