NAIROBI

Kenyan special forces are still battling "one or two" Islamist militants holed up inside Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, security sources involved

The sources said the militants were located and isolated in or around a casino located on one of the upper floors of the complex.

Sporadic gunfire and the sound of blasts could be heard coming from inside the mall at dawn, witnesses said.

The fresh fighting came some hours after the Kenyan government had declared it was in "full control" of the sprawling mall and as the siege went into its fourth day.

The security sources confirmed that a number hostages had been rescued and evacuated to a military hospital.

Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgents have claimed the attack, which began midday on Saturday when the armed militants marched into the complex, tossed grenades and fired automatic weapons and sent panicked shoppers fleeing.