Kenya mall siege enters third day

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Kenyan troops battled into the early hours as they tried to end a bloody stand-off with Somali Islamist militants holding hostages inside a shopping mall, with police warning the death toll of 68 could rise sharply.

The army said it had secured most of the upmarket, part Israeli-owned Westgate complex, and that most the hostages had been rescued. It said it was trying to bring a "speedy conclusion" to the drama, now into its third day.

Security and intelligence sources told AFP that Israeli agents were also assisting in the operation.

"The criminals are now all located in one place within the building. We will punish the masterminds swiftly, and indeed very painfully," Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a speech to the nation.

Kenyatta said more than 1,000 people were rescued, and that he had also received "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries."

A Kenyan security source said Israelis "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Israeli foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny its agents were involved, although a Western intelligence official confirmed the Israelis were playing a frontline role.

British and US agents were also at the scene, the source said.