Earthquake Measuring 7.8 Hits Rural Pakistan

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 has hit a remote area of south western Pakistan.

The strong quake struck a remote mountainous part of the country at 4.29pm local time (12.29BST) around 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a depth of 15 kilometres.

It was felt as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, hundreds of miles to the east, where buildings shook.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, but many of the buildings in that part of the country are made of weak materials and there were fears a death toll could grow.

The United States Geological Survey issued a red alert for the quake, warning that heavy casualties were likely, based on past data.

Tremors were felt across the province as well as in the sprawling port city of Karachi, residents said. People in Ahmedabad in India, hundreds of miles from the eipcentre, ran out of buildings and into the street.

A senior Pakistani meteorologist, Muhammad Riaz, told Dunya TV station it was a "major" earthquake and "heavy destruction" was likely.

Mumtaz Baluch, senior local administration official in Awaran district, 350 kilometres southwest of Quetta, told AFP: "There are reports of houses being collapsed in the district due to earthquake."

"We also have initial information about injuries to people as a result of the collapse of houses but there are no reports of any deaths."

"We have dispatched our teams to the affected area to ascertain the losses."

People working in offices Karachi rushed out of their building and sat on the footpaths along the roads or stood away from the buildings.

Noor Jabeen, a 28-year woman working for an insurance company said: "My work table jerked a bit and again and I impulsively rushed outside."

"Whenever I feel jolts it reminds me of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir," said Amjad Ali, 45, IT official standing on the road said.

A 7.6 magnitude quake in 2005 centred in Kashmir, killed at least 73,000 people and left several million homeless in one of the worst natural disasters to hit Pakistan.

The epicentre is in a remote, thinly populated mountainous area of Balochistan populated mainly by subsistence farmers.

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US 'Concerned' Over Al Shabaab Recruiters

The White House has said it is concerned about attempts by Somalia's al Shabaab to recruit in the US, but has no confirmation that any American citizens were involved in the deadly siege at a shopping mall in Kenya.

The Somali militant group with ties to al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the three-day stand-off in Nairobi in which at least 62 people have died.

Kenya Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said "two or three Americans" were involved in the attack, along with one British woman.

Ms Mohamed said the Americans were 18 or 19 years old, of Somali and Arab origin, and lived "in Minnesota and one other place".

"That just goes to underline the global nature of the war that we're fighting," she said.

Her comments have been dismissed by an al Shabaab spokesman who said: "Those who describe the attackers as Americans and British are people who do not know what is going on."

An armoured military vehicle leaves the shopping centre in Nairobi

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the department had "no definitive evidence of the nationalities or identities of the perpetrators at this time".

White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes said US officials had seen "reports coming out of al Shabaab that indicate information along those lines".

"We do monitor very carefully and have for some time been concerned about efforts by al Shabaab to recruit Americans or US persons to come to Somalia.

"So this is an issue that has been tracked very closely by the US government and it's one that we'll be looking into in the days ahead."

US Representative from New York, Pete King, said al Shabaab has recruited up to 50 people from Somali-American communities in the US.

Mr King, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in an ABC interview on Sunday that between 15 and 20 Somali-Americans remain active in the group.

He said the concern is that some may return and "use their abilities on the US".

Smoke billows from a section of the shopping centre

Meanwhile, as Kenya security forces attempted to bring the deadly three-day siege to a conclusion, President Barack Obama said it was a "terrible outrage" and offered to provide law enforcement support to Kenya.

"I want to express personally my condolences not only to (Kenya's) President Kenyatta, who lost some family members in the attack, but to the Kenyan people," he said.

"We stand with them against this terrible outrage that's occurred."

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Ohio's Somali-American community that the Islamist group presents a threat not just to Africa.

"Today there are clear evidences that Shabaab is not a threat to Somalia and Somali people only," he said in a speech at Ohio State University.

"They are a threat to the continent of Africa, and the world at large."

Mr Mohamud called on people from Somalia who are living in Ohio to consider coming home to help rebuilding efforts.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said al Shabaab is a global threat

Central Ohio has the second-largest number of Somalis in the US after the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, area.

Members of Minnesota's Somali community have condemned the attack.

Several groups called a news conference in solidarity with the victims and to warn about the dangers of extremism.

One Somali woman in Minnesota, Hodan Hassan, said her 17-year-old and 16-year-old nieces were injured in the attacks.

She said the older one is in critical condition with severe leg injuries, while the other was not as seriously hurt. They are Canadian citizens who moved to Nairobi three years ago.

Ms Hassan said it would be sad if Somali-Americans were responsible but she doubts it is true.

Meanwhile, three alleged members of al Shabaab appeared in New York accused of being part of an "elite suicide unit".

The three had links to al Qaeda operatives in East Africa "who sought to carry out attacks against the United States and Western interests in that region", prosecutors wrote in a letter filed on September 18.

They were captured in Africa allegedly trying to reach Yemen, where they were planning to meet up with al Qaeda operatives.

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Japan 'Slow To Tackle Fukushima Nuclear Leak'

Leaks of contaminated water at the crippled nuclear plant have worsened because Japan has acted too slowly, a former US nuclear regulatory chief claims.

US and Japanese officials knew that leaks would occur when massive amounts of water were used to cool molten reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after a major tsunami hit in March 2011, said Gregory Jaczko, adding that he was surprised how long it took Japan to start tackling the problem.

"It's been known for a long time that this would be an issue," he told a news conference in Tokyo.

"My biggest surprise is to some extent how it's been allowed to deteriorate, a little bit, and how it's almost become a surprise again that there are contamination problems, that there is leakage out into the sea."

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe (in red hat) last week at the plant

Mr Jaczko said that when the plant was in critical condition, with three reactor cores melted and in dire need of cooling water, Japanese and US officials had disputed how much water should be put in because of the imminent leaks of radiation contaminated water and measures needed to contain that problem.

The Japanese government, he said, was concerned that flooding those reactor vessels and reactor buildings with cooling water "would lead to greater leakage of ground water," whereas the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission emphasised the need to keep reactors cool and under control to minimise the airborne contamination.

But the "focus was lost" on the need to keep addressing the radioactive water problem, apparently delaying action on mitigating the problem, he said.

Japanese officials confirmed for first time in July that contaminated ground water had begun leaking into the Pacific soon after the accident.

Gregory Jaczko left his post last year

Leaders of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power during the crisis, acknowledged last week that a plan to build a seawall to block contaminated water leaks into the sea has been put off for nearly two years after plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. allegedly refused to agree to the plan because of costs.

The public is increasingly worried about the recent string of underground water leaks into the ocean and from storage tanks holding contaminated water used to cool the reactors.

The government is now funding the development of more advanced water treatment equipment and paying for a costly ice wall to surround the reactor and turbine buildings and prevent them from contaminating outside ground water.

Mr Jaczko, who was chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the time of the Fukushima accident, was in Tokyo at the invitation of a Japanese anti-nuclear citizens' group.

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Kenya Siege: Heavy Gunfire Heard Inside Mall

Heavy bursts of gunfire have been heard from inside a Nairobi shopping centre as Kenyan soldiers fight with terrorists to rescue hostages.

At least 10 hostages remain inside the mall on the fourth day of the siege in which 62 people have been killed, including six Britons - among them an eight-year-old girl.

Medics who have been inside the complex warned that the numbers of dead are significantly greater than have been confirmed, and the city morgue is preparing for the arrival of a large number of bodies.

In a new Twitter feed claiming to be run by Somalia's al Qaeda-linked rebel group, al Shabaab, a post said that "the mujahideen are still holding their ground".

It warned "there are countless number of dead bodies still scattered inside the mall" and said it was "far greater than how the Kenyans perceive it".

Victims: Ross Langdon, Eliv Yavus and eight-year-old Jenah Bawa

Another post said that they were still holding hostages who were "still alive looking quite disconcerted but, nevertheless, alive".

In an audio broadcast on a pro-militant website, the al Shebaab spokesman Ali Mohamoud Rage, threatened that unless Kenya pulled its troops out of Somalia it could expect further terror attacks.

The Kenyan police responded with a Twitter message in which it told people to ignore enemy propaganda and said: "Troops now in mop up operations in the building. More to follow. Be calm."

They also said that they had been defusing bombs set up by the militants inside the mall, as part of the buildings roof has now collapsed.

Kenyan forces at the shopping centre early on Tuesday

The army has confirmed that three soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

The Kenyan government insisted early on Tuesday that it was "in control" of the mall and that all hostages trapped by the attackers had been evacuated.

Government spokesman Manoah Esipisu said: "Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. Obviously it's a very, very big building.

Bodies arrive at the city morgue

"We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated but we don't want to take any chances. The special forces are doing their job and yes, I think we are near the end."

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "The government has said it's all over … but that seems to conflict with what we are hearing both from the military sources here - one of them told me that there were at least maybe two gunmen still holed up - and indeed al Shabaab itself.

"They have been in communication with their people inside and they say are still there and they have hostages still.

"It's very confused, there is an element of propaganda perhaps from both sides about what is happening inside."

He said that he had spoken to a medic who had been inside the building and they had said the numbers of dead were "huge" and warned that the official figures would rise.

The developments came as Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said that a British woman and two or three Americans were among those who had attacked the centre.

She said the British woman had "done this very many times before".

Her comments have led to increasing speculation that she could be the 29-year-old widow of the 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, Samantha Lewthwaite.

Smoke is seen rising from the shopping centre

However, a leading terrorism expert has said her involvement is unlikely and al Shabaab has denied the claim.

A string of Twitter accounts apparently run by al Shabaab have been shut down since the attack began.

The extremists also appeared to verify a picture that has been circulating on the internet claiming to be taken from the shopping centre CCTV and showing the gunmen.

The two figures in the picture are seen in black headscarves, ambling past a children's sweet stall in the mall.

According to Sky News sources, the British military is now giving assistance to Kenyan forces at the mall and has offered further assistance.

Police and volunteers react after hearing gunshots

On Monday, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said: "As the Prime Minister made clear, we have said we will provide them with any assistance which they request. We haven't yet been asked to provide any assistance beyond broad background advice."

Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, said the United States stood with Kenyans against "this terrible outrage".

The atrocity is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bomb attack on the US embassy in 1998 that killed more than 200 people.

:: The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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Kenya Stand-Off: Major Explosion And Gunfire

Four huge explosions have been heard followed by a barrage of gunfire at the Westgate shopping complex in Nairobi where 69 people, including four Britons, have died in a raid by Islamic militants.

Black smoke is pouring from the centre as Kenyan troops lay siege to the four-storey complex while military and police helicopters circle above.

A security official told reporters at the scene: "It is us who caused the explosion, we are trying to get in through the roof."

However, a Kenyan minister said the smoke had been caused by the al Shabaab militants setting fire to mattresses as a decoy.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay said he had been told some of the terrorists had blown themselves up while others has been "taken out" by special forces.

He added: "Things have heated up a lot. This appears to be the op trying to get to those hostages but it's going to be very difficult and very dangerous."

Aerial view of the smoke rising from the shopping centre

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said he expected security forces to end the siege soon. Two of the attackers had been killed in the assault and several injured, and there was no way out for the others.

"We think the operation will come to an end soon," he told a press conference. "We are in control of all the floors, the terrorists are running and hiding in some stores ... there is no room for escape."

Kenya's police chief David Kimaiyo admitted some hostages had still not been rescued, but insisted: "We're increasingly gaining advantage of the attackers."

Defence chief General Julius Karangi said the militants were "a multinational collection from all over the world."

One of the Britons killed in the raid, which began on Saturday, has been named as Ross Langdon, who had dual Australian nationality.

Mr Langdon and Eliv Yavus. Pic: Windgrove: Life on the Edge blog

The 33-year-old architect died alongside his Dutch wife Eliv Yavus who was pregnant and due to give birth in two weeks.

Colleagues of Mr Langdon told Sky News: "We were shocked at the news. Ross was the kind of guy who restored your faith in humanity - what a senseless waste."

The Kenyan Defence Force said earlier on its Twitter feed it was making every effort to bring the situation "to a speedy conclusion".

It said it had secured most of the shopping mall, and many of the hostages had been rescued.

Officials said up to 15 attackers were still been inside the building. They have been using the hostages as human shields and have threatened to kill them.

Kenyan troops take cover as they await developments

Al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage warned the hostages would "bear the brunt of any force directed against the mujahedeen".

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said there have been "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" to end the stand-off, but that for now it remains a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source confirmed that Israeli agents were "rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Westgate shopping complex is part Israeli-owned.

Britain's SAS is also reportedly helping out in an advisory role, along with US agents.

The Kenyan Red Cross says 69 people have been killed, at least 63 remain missing and around 200 have been injured. Five of these are said to be from the US.

Troops make their way to the shopping mall

Police have conceded the number of dead could be "much, much higher", after reports emerged that there are multiple fatalities still inside the centre.

The Foreign Office, which confirmed four Britons were among those killed, warned that number was likely to rise.

Also killed were two Canadians, two French citizens, two Indian citizens, a South Korean, a South African, a Dutch woman and the former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor.

Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short a visit to Balmoral to chair a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra in London later today. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond chaired a Cobra meeting this morning.

Mr Cameron has described the attack on the shopping complex as "despicable" and an act of "appalling brutality".

Samantha Lewthwaite: Is she involved?

Meanwhile, some reports are linking a female British terror suspect nicknamed the "White Widow" to the plot, although the Foreign Office has denied it is investigating these claims and the Kenyan authorities say all the attackers are male.

Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Ramsay said: "We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attack in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

"Interestingly she has been used in the past with planning and propaganda, not actual assaults, although there is some evidence she has been linked to at least one.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay reporting on the siege

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her. The government have said there have been reports of more than one woman involved.

"Al Shabaab is thought to consist of foreign nationals as well as people from Somalia. I've heard reports of one Briton being involved and someone from Canada as well."

Mr Kenyatta said one of his nephews and his nephew's fiancee were among the people confirmed killed.

"They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts," the president said in an emotional speech to the nation. "We will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully."

The attack is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bomb attack on the US embassy in 1998 that killed more than 200 people.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have adjourned the trial of Kenyan vice president William Ruto for a week to allow him to return home and help deal with the crisis.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000. 

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Pakistan Protests At Deadly Church Bombings

Angry Christians have been demonstrating across Pakistan in protest at Sunday's church bombings as the number of dead climbed overnight to 81.

In the country's deadliest attack against the minority faith, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up amid hundreds of worshippers outside an historic church in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan.

Christian protesters have blocked roads around the country in protest at the attack.

Christian men in Quetta shout anti-government slogans after the bomb attack

On one of the main roads coming into the capital, Islamabad, demonstrators burned brush and tyres and demanded government protection for the members of the Christian minority.

"We are a peaceful nation. We are loyal citizens of Pakistan," said Simon Jalal, a priest. "We want our rights, we want security. Security should be provided to our churches to stop more incidents like yesterday's."

Members of the Christian community in Lahore hold placards and candles

The attack on the All Saints Church in the city of Peshawar, which also wounded more than 140 people, occurred as worshippers were leaving.

A wing of the Pakistani Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying they would continue to target non-Muslims until the US stops drone attacks in the remote tribal region of Pakistan.

The bombings also raised new questions about the Pakistani government's push to strike a peace deal with the militants to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people.

Within hours of the attack, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's toughened his stance, but fell short of calling for outright military action against insurgents holed up in tribal areas on the Afghan border - an option supported by Pakistan's army.

Christians are a minority in Pakistan, where roughly 96% of the country's 180 million people is Muslim. The rest is made up of other religions, including Christianity.

Christians have often been attacked by Sunni Muslim militants, who view them as enemies of Islam because of their faith.

Christians are also in a precarious position in Pakistan.

Protests have been held across Pakistan

While many Pakistanis condemned the Sunday bombings, Christians have often faced discrimination across the country.

They find it difficult to get access to education or better jobs and are known for having to contend with menial labour such as rubbish collecting or street cleaning.

It comes as police confirmed a bomb has also exploded near a patrol in southwest Baluchistan province, killing four people, including three officers.

No one has said they carried out the attack. Baluchistan is home to both Islamic militants and nationalists who have been fighting an insurgency against the government for decades for a greater share of the province's natural resources.

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Merkel Romps To Victory In German Election

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Angela Merkel has joined her jubilant supporters in song and dance after winning a third term as German Chancellor.

Speaking at a post-election party to chants of "Angie, Angie, Angie", she hailed a "superb result" for her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Together with sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), it saw its combined share of the vote rise by 8%.

Ms Merkel will have to forge alliances with traditional opponents

German newspaper Der Spiegel said the country was now a "Merkel republic", such was the returning Chancellor's dominance at the polls.

However, Ms Merkel's celebrations are unlikely to continue for long, as she begins the task of securing new coalition partners to govern Europe's largest economy.

The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) her coalition partner since 2009, saw its support plummet by nearly a tenth to 4.8%.

It slumped beneath the 5% threshold of national support and is now barred from the Bundestag, the national parliament.

"The party leadership will discuss everything when we have a final result but we can celebrate tonight," Ms Merkel said.

"I see the next four years in front of me and I can promise that we will face many tasks, at home, in Europe and in the world."

Officials results show the CDU/CSU won 41.5% of the vote, seeing off the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) who managed 25.7%.

The humiliation of the FDP almost handed Ms Merkel an absolute majority, as its exclusion lowered the number of seats the CSU would have needed to control the chamber.

But she fell just five seats short of that total and will need to forge alliances in order to govern.

It seems most likely she will seek a "grand alliance" with the SDP, which will be expected to seek promises in return for its support.

They could include a greater emphasis on growth across the eurozone, rather than austerity, and the introduction of a minimum national wage.

But Ms Merkel's support from the electorate is so strong, it will strengthen her hand in any negotiation.

It is unlikely there would be an obvious sea-change in the government's political trajectory.

That will be welcomed by many in the EU and leaders around the world who know that a change of direction might spook the markets and raise borrowing costs for indebted nations.

It will also cheer Prime Minister David Cameron, as Ms Merkel appears to share his conviction that the EU could be strengthened if power flows from Brussels back to member states.

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Kenya: 'White Widow' Briton Linked To Attack

Men dressed as women were among the attackers who massacred shoppers at a mall in Kenya, it has been claimed.

A Kenyan government minister said that the terrorists who attacked the shopping complex in Nairobi were all men, but added that some were dressed as women.

Earlier, a white woman wearing a veil was reportedly spotted shouting orders to gunmen in Arabic during the attack on the Westgate complex in the Kenyan capital.

Some reports linked Samantha Lewthwaite, the English widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, and the attack.

She is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell.

Soldiers are moving in on the terrorists at the shopping centre

However the Foreign Office later said it was not linking the two.

Sky News' Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "I saw a picture of a white woman wearing a balaclava and carrying a weapon."

Security sources say the group of attackers are from several different countries.

A commander of the group believed to be behind the attack has reportedly denied that any of militants are from the UK or US.

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Pakistan: Suicide Bombing At Peshawar Church

More than 60 people have been killed in a double suicide bomb attack on a church in northwest Pakistan, officials say.

A man cries over the death of his brother in the blast Around 400 people were at the service

Another 120 people were wounded when the two bombers blew themselves up as worshippers left the church in Peshwar city, which had been offering a free meal of rice.

Nazir John, one of those at the church, said: "There were blasts and there was hell for all of us. When I got my senses back, I found nothing but smoke, dust, blood and screaming people. I saw severed body parts and blood all around."

Peshawar's commissioner Sahibzada Anees told reporters the bombers struck when the service had just ended.

"Most of the wounded are in critical condition," he said, adding that special security had been in force to protect the church.

"We are in an area which is a target of terrorism and within that area there was a special security arrangement for the church. We are in a rescue phase and once it is over we will investigate what went wrong," 

Witnesses said they heard two blasts, the second more powerful than the first.             

Najeeb Bogvi, a senior police officer, said: "After the service ended, people started to come out and the suicide bomber rushed towards them."

Islamic militants are thought to be behind the attack

Schoolteacher Nazir Khan, 50, said: "A huge blast threw me on the floor and as soon as I regained my senses, a second blast took place and I saw wounded people everywhere."

Doctor Mohammad Iqbal of Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital said 61 people had been killed and 120 wounded. Sher Ali Khan, another doctor at the hospital, confirmed the numbers and said the dead included several women and children.

Sahibzada Anees, one of Peshawar's most senior officials, said: "Most of the wounded are in critical condition.

An injured person is taken awy from the scene of destruction

"We are in an area which is a target of terrorism and within that area there was a special security arrangement for the church. We are in a rescue phase and once it is over we will investigate what went wrong."

It is the country's deadliest ever assualt on the Christian  sectarian attack since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn in in June and the .

His office said in a statement: "The Prime Minister said that terrorists have no religion and targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions.

A woman mourns a victim of the attack

"He added that such cruel acts of terrorism reflect the brutality and inhumane mind set of the terrorists."

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on one of the country's many Islamic militant groups.

Islamic militants have been blamed for previous attacks on the Muslim country's Christian minority, and other Muslim groups they consider heretics.

Christians make up about 4% of Pakistan's population of 180 million

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Kenya: 'If You Were Muslim They Let You Go'

Al Shabaab Behind String Of Attacks

Updated: 8:12am UK, Sunday 22 September 2013

The Somali militant group al Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for the attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, is behind a string of terrorist atrocities across eastern Africa.

Formed in 2006, the al Qaeda-linked group can trace its roots to the Islamic Courts Union that once ran the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

It was eventually driven out of the city by African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi, who were later joined by soldiers from Kenya.

Al Shabaab uses guerrilla tactics to battle the Somali government and the troops brought in to maintain security.

It has attracted hundreds of foreign fighters, including some Britons.

Samantha Lewthwaite, from Buckinghamshire, the so-called "white widow" of 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay, is thought to have links to the group.

She has been on the run since Christmas 2011, when police foiled a plot to bomb buildings used by Western tourists in Mombassa.

Although al Shabaab has lost control of key towns and cities it once controlled, the group still claims vast swathes of rural Somalia, including land near the Kenyan border.

It has claimed responsibility for several deadly suicide bombings, including one in February 2009 which killed 11 Burundian soldiers on an African peacekeeping mission.

It carried out its first international attack in July 2010, killing at least 74 people in a bomb blast in the Ugandan capital Kampala, before gaining global notoriety by blocking aid from Western relief agencies during the 2011 famine in Somalia.

According to the US National Counterterrorism Centre, the group is also behind the assassinations of peace activists, aid workers, community leaders and journalists.

It was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US government in February 2008.

Al Shabaab, whose name means "the youth" in Arabic, had threatened to strike Nairobi before.

In a message posted on Twitter, it said it had repeatedly warned the Kenyan government that failure to remove its forces from Somalia "would have severe consequences".

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