Student held in Kenyan mall attack probe

A student has been held in Kenya in connection with the ongoing investigation into last month's terror attack in Nairobi's upscale Westgate shopping mall that left over 70 people killed and about 175 wounded in the four-day siege.

Kenyan authorities Thursday arrested a student in the coastal city Mombasa in connection to the ongoing investigation. The 19 year-old Form Three student identified as Said Nassir Haddir was trailed and picked from his home in Kisauni, Mombasa by police, Xinhua reported.

The student who holds a valid Tanzania passport, had communicated with some of the terror suspects being held by police in Nairobi, police said.

Head of Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) Boniface Mwaniki confirmed the arrest, adding that police were holding him for questioning. "He is undergoing interrogation with the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit on suspicion of being Al-Shabaab member and his role in the Westgate siege."

Police recovered several passports from the student and sent them to Nairobi for further analysis at the immigration and Cid departments.