39 Dead In Kenya Mall Attack [VIDEO]

Kenya's president says that 39 people have been killed and more than 150 injured by armed terrorists who attacked an upscale mall in Nairobi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta says he lost "very close family members" in the attack carried out by "despicable perpetrators" of a cowardly act.

Kenyatta said that hundreds of people were safely evacuated from the mall. He said Kenyans courage and sympathy saved lives and reassured countless people.

He said security forces were responding to the attack. He called it a delicate operation and said a top priority was to safeguard the lives of those still being held hostage.

Al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials: 4 US citizens injured in Kenya attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say four American citizens have been injured in Saturday's deadly attack on a shopping mall in Kenya.

The officials say the wife of a foreign service national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development was killed.

A State Department official says consular officers have been in contact with the four injured Americans and have been providing appropriate assistance. No details about them have been released due to privacy concerns.

Secretary of State John Kerry called the attack "a heartbreaking reminder that there exists unspeakable evil in our world which can destroy life in a senseless instant."

In a statement from the White House, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council says the U.S. will help bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden says "We will continue to stand with the Kenyan people in their efforts to confront terrorism in all its forms, including the threat posed by al-Shabaab." She says "This cowardly act against innocent civilians will not shake our resolve."

2 Canadians dead in Kenya mall attack

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Two Canadians have died in a terrorist attack at a shopping mall in Kenya.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office issued a statement confirming diplomat Annemarie Desloges died along with one other unidentified Canadian.

The statement called Desloges a distinguished public servant of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration who served in Canada's High Commission to Kenya.

Kenyan officials say at least 39 people were killed and 150 others were wounded in the assault.

Somalia's Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility and says the attack was retribution for Kenyan forces' 2011 push into Somalia.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)