Monday September 23, 2014 A loud explosion is heard
Tuesday September 24, 2013 Operation ends
Approximately 1230pm Saturday, September 21, 2013: Armed men stormed the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, killing at least three people and sparking a fierce gun battle.
At the time, the motive of the attack was not immediately clear. An hour into the attack, spokesman for the Kenya military Major E Chirchir posted on his official Twitter account:
1230hours Terrorists fired shots at innocent bystanders.
Three hours later, AFP reporters at the scene said the surrounding area had been sealed off by police.
1300hours Kenya Red Cross secretary general Abbas Gullet and his team arrive at the scene.
1330hours All four terrorists join up at Nakumatt supermarket and shoot people found hiding at the store.
1350hours Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo arrives at the scene, says: "There's an incident at Westgate and we're urging the public to keep off the area."
One policeman ran to the rooftop only to discover participants of a kids cooking competition shot, injured and some dead. He ran back down to call for help.
1700hours Nation reporters at the scene have counted 26 bodies. Government appeals to Kenyans to donate blood. The Interior Ministry asks the public to leave the Westgate area for security reasons as the military joins the operation.
1900hours CCTV shows all four terrorists in a storeroom at Nakumatt. They appear relaxed, took time to pray and tended to their colleague who was injured during the exchange of gunfire with police.
Sunday, September 22, 2013: One of the three remaining terrorists tilted the CCTV camera so it could no longer cover the inside of the room. This was the last video footage of the terrorists. It is believed that they tried to escape using an unknown route. Journalists and volunteers kept vigil outside.
At one point, loud explosions rented the air forcing volunteers, journalists and even police to run for cover.
Monday, September 23, 2013: 0645hours A large explosion is heard inside the mall. A few hours later, four more large explosions are heard and smoke is seen rising up from the mall.
1900hours Kenyan officials say the smoke is from terrorists burning mattresses at Nakumatt. It later emerged that the Kenya Defence Forces decided to fire a high-explosive anti-tank rocket as part of their operation to neutralise the terrorists. The end result was the partial collapse of the rear rooftop parking lot and two floors with Nakumatt.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013: 1830hours President Uhuru Kenyatta holds a Press Conference and declares Westgate Mall secure.