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The Islamic terrorists who attacked a luxury hotel in Nairobi have all been "eliminated", the country's president said.
Uhuru Kenyatta said the security operation ended after a siege lasting about 20 hours resulted in the death of at least 14 innocents.
Police sources and a mortuary official had previously reported that 15 people were killed in the attack in the Westland residential neighborhood of Nairobi.
Kenyan security officers defended themselves behind a moving vehicle as they searched for the attackers
A British man who died in the attack has not yet been identified.
The San Francisco-based company I-DEV International confirms that its American co-founder Jason Spindler was killed during the siege.
The company says in an e-mail that nine other employees in his Nairobi office have been safely evacuated.
The London-based foreign aid contractor, Adam Smith International, said two of his Somali-Kenyan employees were killed.
The American business man Jason Spindler was killed in the attack. Pic: I-DEV International
Abdalla Dahir and Feisal Ahmed were on the terrace of a restaurant in the complex where the company has offices in Nairobi.
About 50 staff and consultants were safely evacuated.
Kenyatta said more than 700 civilians were rescued after the attack on the DusitD2 hotel and administrative complex, which includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks.
00:52
President: "Kenyans are mourning"
He did not make it clear if people were still hiding on the site.
Kenyatta, who urged Kenyans to "return to work without fear," he said Wednesday in a televised speech to the nation: "I can confirm that … the security operation in the Dusit complex is over and all the terrorists are been eliminated. "
A heavily armed policeman patrols outside the hotel complex
He added: "From now on, we have the confirmation that 14 innocent lives have been lost to the … terrorists, with the other wounded".
Kenyatta said the authorities "will pursue non-stop" those who are allegedly involved in funding, planning and carrying out the attack on the hotel complex.
00:47
Armed extremists captured on CCTV
He added that "many security efforts are under way to detect, deter, destroy and defeat any operational or group terrorist."
Kenyatta added: "From the means available to security services and judicial weapons, we will continue to take every step to make our nation inhospitable for terrorist groups and their networks."
The Kenyan leader did not confirm how many attackers were involved in the coordinated attack.
More than 700 civilians were brought to safety in rescue operations
Al-Shabaab – the Somali Islamist extremist group that is allied with al Qaeda – has claimed responsibility for the deadly siege.
CCTV footage broadcast by local media has shown that four men dressed in black and heavily armed enter the complex on Tuesday afternoon.
At least one of them blew himself up at the start of the attack.
The authorities sent special forces to the hotel to flush out the armed men, who according to local reports were on the seventh floor of the Grosvenor Hotel.
The footage from inside the building showed Kenyan security agents looking around the premises.
People were taken away from the assembly by members of the security forces
The workers could be seen emerging from the hiding places while the shots could still be heard.
A senior police officer said two bombers were killed Wednesday morning after a long shoot-out.
He added: "The two have red bandanas tied around the forehead and bullets tied around the chest with several magazines each.
"Everyone had an AK47 that was insured."
Local reports said the attackers were on the seventh floor of the building
Sporades of gunfire could be heard from the scene hours before Kenyatta spoke on Wednesday, after dozens of people were rescued at dawn during what the police called a "mopping up" exercise.
Kenyan hospitals appealed for blood donations even though the number of injured remained unclear.
A new explosion was heard in the Nairobi complex 24 hours after the extremists entered.
Witnesses said security services are conducting a series of explosives and emergency responses seem unperturbed.
Al-Shabaab carried out the 2013 attack in the nearby Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, which claimed the lives of 67 people.
The footage emerged from the armed police inside the hotel in Nairobi
As the attack on the mall, this appeared aimed at wealthy Kenyans and foreigners.
He arrived the day after a magistrate established that three men must be tried in connection with the siege of the Westgate Mall.
Al Shabaab has promised the punishment against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia to fight it since 2011.
Tuesday's violence took place three years after al-Shabaab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in Somalia, killing dozens of people.
The group has killed hundreds of people in Kenya.
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on Kenya's Garissa University in 2015 that killed 147 people, mostly students.
The latest carnage demonstrated Al Shabaab's continued ability to perform spectacular bloodshed despite a dramatic increase in US air strikes against it under President Donald Trump.
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