Kenya Westgate attack: DNA tests after body parts found

BBC reporter Gabriel Gatehouse: "Men in the white overalls, shoe coverings and masks are carrying out the forensic analysis on bodies"

Relatives of some of the people missing after the attack on a Kenyan shopping mall have come forward for DNA testing.

The police made the request after the discovery of body parts.
The four-day siege by Somali Islamist militants left 67 people dead; a further 39 are still missing.
The BBC's Robert Kiptoo says there have been conflicting reports about whether all the bodies have been retrieved from the Westgate shopping centre in the capital Nairobi.

Kenya: Major attacks

• 1998: US embassy in Nairobi bombed, killing 224 people - one of al-Qaeda's first international attacks
• 2002: Attack on Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa kills 10 Kenyans; simultaneous rocket attack on an Israeli airliner fails
• 2011: Suspected al-Shabab militants raid Kenyan coastal resorts and a refugee camp, targeting and kidnapping foreigners
• 2011: Kenya sends troops into Somalia to tackle al-Shabab
• 2011-13: Numerous grenade attacks near Somali border and in Nairobi

At least three bodies were brought to Nairobi's morgue on Tuesday, he said.

Al-Shabab, a Somali group linked to al-Qaeda, said its militants had stormed the shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on 21 September in retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in Somalia.
Our correspondent says at least four families came to Nairobi's main morgue on Wednesday morning. Three of them were families of soldiers who died in the attack.
One body was positively identified by a family before DNA testing was required.
In total six security officers were killed during operations to end the siege.
Five militants were also killed by security forces during the four-day siege, and the whereabouts of their bodies or identities remains unknown, our reporter says.

New pictures obtained by the BBC show the extent of damage and looting

Nine people are being held in custody after being arrested in connection with the attacks, the authorities say.
About 4,000 Kenyan troops were sent to Somalia in October 2011 to help pro-government forces end two decades of violence, with clan-based warlords and Islamist militants all battling for control of the country.
Al-Shabab is regarded as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters.
Its members are fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.


SOURCE: BBC