Fourth Briton among 62 Kenya dead

A fourth Briton has been confirmed among the dead in the terrorist attack on a Nairobi shopping centre as Kenyan security forces moved in to bring the three-day stand-off to an end.

The Kenyan interior ministry said “almost all” of the hostages have been evacuated from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi and two militants killed as security forces have taken “full control of the situation”.

In London, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has chaired a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergencies committee, with David Cameron set to return to the capital to chair a second meeting later. Mr Hammond reiterated the Government’s offer of help to the Kenyan authorities. “We stand ready to provide them with any additional assistance they require,” he said. “We will be monitoring the situation throughout the day.”

Downing Street said Mr Cameron – who spoke on Sunday to Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta – offered help in terms of “policing, intelligence collaboration and other related kinds” of assistance.

The Foreign Office confirmed that four British nationals were now known to be among the dead – who also included foreigners from France, the Netherlands, South Africa, Ghana, the United States and Canada. None of the Britons have been identified officially although one has been named in reports as Ross Langdon, who had dual nationality with Australia.

Kenyan interior minister Joe Lenku said that, in all, 62 people have been confirmed dead – although there are fears the toll will rise as security forces search the upmarket shopping complex.

The start of the final assault was heralded by a series of loud blasts and a barrage of gunfire as a pall of thick black smoke began to rise over the mall. The chief of the Kenyan defence forces, General Julius Karangi, said the Islamist militants who carried out the attack – thought to number around 10 to 15 – included fighters from various countries. He said: “We have an idea who these people are and they are clearly a multinational collection from all over the world.”

Responsibility for the attack as been claimed by al-Shabab – an Islamist group based in neighbouring Somalia with links to al Qaida. Kenyan troops have been taking part in an African Union force involved in helping the Somali government to wrest back control of the country from al-Shabab.

Earlier, a Twitter account purporting to belong to an al-Shabab spokesman named a 24-year-old man from London as one of the gunmen. The @hsm_press2 account listed a string of names it claimed were involved in the attack before being closed down, as previous usernames linked to the terrorist group had been.

The Foreign Office said earlier it was investigating suggestions that British terrorist suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to one of the 7/7 bombers, was among the attackers, but the Kenyan authorities have now said all the militants were male.

Fourth Briton among 62 Kenya dead