Nairobi, Kenya

On 21 September 2013, four masked gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping mall, an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya. There are conflicting reports about the number killed in the attack, since part of the mall collapsed due to a fire that started during the siege. The attack resulted in 71 total deaths, including 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers, and all four gunmen. Approximately 200 people were wounded in the massacre.

The extremist Islamic group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it characterised as retribution for the Kenyan military's deployment in the group's home country of Somalia. Many media outlets also suspected the insurgent group's involvement in the attack based on earlier reprisal warnings it had issued in the wake of Operation Linda Nchi from 2011 to 2012.

1. The mall was reopened 2 years after the attack. Here there is still some exterior reno work being done.
4. Inside, prior to the attack
5. During the attack: smoke rising from the collapsed under ground garage.
6. A photo taken inside while the gunmen were still on the loose.
7. People scramble as the shooting starts. The gunmen where down the hall towards the bottom left.
8. CCTV grab showing two of the gunmen inside the mall.
9. The gunmen split up to roam the halls. This guy is in the image above as well
10. Two off duty cops, with their weapons, guided many shoppers to safety exits.
14. Kenya military took a while to get to the scene, but they never got organized.
15. Any escape is a good escape.
16. One of the gunmen fired towards this woman and her children but missed...she reported that he then just walked off, firing at other people.Kenyan authorities arrested dozens of people in the aftermath of the attack, but had not announced any suspects directly related to the siege. On 4 November 2013, a Kenyan court charged four Somali nationals with harbouring the gunmen in their homes, with each pleading not guilty.

On 20 September 2015, Foreign Policy magazine reported the Westgate attack on 21 September lasted several hours, with the last victim killed before special Kenyan security forces entered the mall. The mall was officially declared secured on 24 September.
17. This guy was killed as the gunmen entered the mal
18. The gunmen wreaked the most havoc in the parking lot, before entering the mall. This is where most of the deaths occurred. Mother and her teenage daughter.
20. Witnesses stated that the gunmen walked casually as they sprayed people with bullets.
22. More carnage took place in a food court outside of the mall, where many were killed.
26. Dead, wounded and unhurt workers at the food court
30. Aftermath at the food court.
31. This guy was shot dead infront of the mall as the gunmen approached the front doors.
32. Kids who were evacuated through the front doors waiting for their mother. They were each given Mars bars to try and keep them calm.
33. This was inside a restaurant attached to the mall. The young man infront of the Urban sign had been trying to protect his young wife, who was pregnant, but they were both killed.
A rocket fired by the Kenyan army collapsed the back of the mall, dropping the rooftop car park into the basement, pancaking the room where the terrorists had taken shelter and throwing a thick plume of smoke into the Nairobi sky. The fire burned for days. Parked cars with full fuel tanks fell into the gaping hole and exploded like bombs.
34. This person had been killed after admitting that he wasn't Muslim, while his friend, a Buddist, was able to recite a quote from the Koran and was let go. His wife however, was shot dead. The gunmen had allowed a number of Muslims to go free.
36. The military were reported to have no cohesive plan and were often firing at each other.
40. The aftermath - survivors.
41. This young boy was injured but survived.
The heat, toxins, and structural instability of the building kept FBI agents brought in to run the forensic investigation from gathering any evidence for weeks. When they finally set to work, what they found were the charred remains of three bodies, alongside parts of three assault rifles, in roughly the location where the storeroom had been — and far from any other human remains.

The fourth gunman is also believed to have died in the fire. The fragments of spine and jaw recovered by the FBI were so burned, and at such high temperatures, that neither teeth nor DNA would have likely offered much clue to the assailants’ identities.