Americans injured in Kenya mall attack: State Department

Police officer holds a gun to provide cover for customers running out as a shooting took place at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi
A police officer holds a gun to provide cover for customers running out as a shooting took place at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi September 21, 2013. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Saturday it had reports that American citizens were injured in an attack when gunmen stormed a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and it condemned the shooting as a "senseless act of violence". "We have reports of American citizens injured in the attack, and the U.S. Embassy is actively reaching out to provide assistance," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. She declined to give details of the Americans injured citing privacy considerations. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Sandra Maler)