The bloody three-day siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi appears to be wrapping up.  Authorities in Kenya say all of the remaining hostages held by heavily armed al Shabab Islamist militants have been freed.  The preliminary death toll among innocent civilians was revised to 62 lives lost, and 63 people remain unaccounted for.

Explosions and gunfire could be heard from the mall throughout Monday, as smoke poured billowed skyward.  A trickle of survivors fled the building as Kenyan forces aided by Israeli military advisors inched forward, aisle by aisle, store by store, floor by floor.  Some observers with commando experience believe it could take another 24 hours to resolve the situation.

Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed said al Shabab was not acting alone and that it was part of an international terrorism campaign, a fact confirmed by the terrorist group’s leader.

“Al Qaeda are our leaders, they are our mentors, they are our leaders.. and we are all engaged in a single conflict against an international Christian crusade and so we are partners in this,” said Abu Omar in an interview with the Al Jazeera news network.

Mohamed also believes the terrorists are made up of around 20 men and women.  Other estimates put the cadre at ten to 15.  At least three of them are dead.  Like the victims, the perpetrators of the cowardly slaughter of civilians came from a variety of nations. 

There is speculation that British fugitive Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the “White Widow” in certain media accounts, could be one of the attackers.  She’s been on the run since 2005 when her husband Germaine Lindsey blew himself up in the July 2005 London Subway bombings.  52 civilians were killed and over 700 more were injured in the United Kingdom's first suicide attacks.

Al-Shabab may have been drawn to attack Kenya out of revenge for its involvement in putting down Islamists in neighboring Somalia, but the Israeli-owned mall, popular with well-off Kenyans and Foreign residents and a symbol of growing international investment in Africa fastest-growing region, provided a tempting target for the terrorists.