State Dept: 4 U.S. Citizens Injured in Kenya Attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says four American citizens have been reported injured in the attack on a shopping mall in Kenya.

Kenyan officials say the assault by Somali militants on Nairobi's top shopping mall killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 150 others.

An armed police officer takes cover during a bout of gunfire outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. Gunmen threw grenades and opened fire Saturday killing at least 22 people in an attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya's capital that was hosting a children's day event, a Red Cross official and witnesses said. (Credit: AP)

In a statement Saturday, a State Department official said consular officers have been in contact with the four injured Americans and have been providing appropriate assistance.

In a separate statement, a White House spokeswoman says some staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya have been "tragically affected" by the attack. No other information has been released.

The spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, Caitlin Hayden, says the U.S. has offered its full support to the Kenyan government to bring the perpetrators to justice.

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