At least 1 Australian killed in Nairobi mall attack

A dual Australian-UK national is among the victims of the Nairobi shopping mall siege, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Sunday. "Advice received from the Australian High Commission in Nairobi confirms that an Australian-UK dual national was among those killed in the terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi," the Australian Associated Press (AAP) quoted a DFAT spokeswoman as saying late Sunday. "The Australian government deeply regrets this senseless loss of life and extends deepest sympathies to the family of the victim. " The spokeswoman refused to offer the name of the individual. Consular assistance will be extended to the family of the person killed, but no identifying details have been released. At least 59 people were killed and 175 wounded when al-Qaeda- linked Somali militants stormed an upmarket shopping centre in the Kenyan capital, according to local officials. A number of terrorist are still holding an unknown number of hostages in the mall. "The situation on the ground remains fluid," the DFAT spokeswoman said. She said her department has received advice from several Australians who were caught up in the attack and managed to escape to safety. Among them is Melbourne woman Sarah Williamson, who reportedly survived by huddling in a phone store for six hours before she could run to safety. The 23-year-old was in the mall with her father, who works for the United Nations, when the attack began.