Kenya Mall Crisis Continues

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hostages being held by al-Qaida-linked terrorists in a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, have not been released despite an earlier statement from the military that "most" had been rescued. That's what a person close to the situation is telling The Associated Press.

Military helicopters circled over the mall at daybreak today as gunfire continued from inside the building, a clear indication that at least one of the estimated 10 to 15 gunmen who attacked the crowded mall on Saturday was still on the loose.

Late Sunday a military said "most" of the hostages had been released after troops launched an assault before sundown. But a person with knowledge of the rescue operation says no hostages had been released or rescued overnight.

The militant group that's claimed responsibility for the attack says in an audio file posted on a website that the hostage takers have been ordered to "take punitive action against the hostages" if force is used to try to rescue them.