Nairobi Westgate Mall Siege: Kenyan Soldiers Jailed for Looting

The two Kenyan soldiers caught on CCTV looting shops while the military operation at Nairobi's Westgate centre was ongoing have been sacked and put in jail.

The news was broken by army chief Julius Karangi, who also revealed that a third soldier was under investigation.

Police Crimanal Investigation Department head Ndegwa Muhoro said that a phone call had been made to Norway during the siege, according to the BBC.

One of the suspected militants has been named as 23-year-old Somalia-born Norwegian national, Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow.

CCTV footage showed security forces walking out of the upmarket shopping centre holding white plastic bags laden with items as the carnage unfolded around them.

In the video, captured on security cameras at the entrance to the Nakumatt supermarket inside the mall, soldiers are seen roaming around the counters and lifting goods before walking away, passing a blood-spattered floor.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the four-day siege, claiming it was in retaliation to the Kenyan government's involvement in an African Union military operation to oust the terrorists from Somalia.

When the attack was over shop owners complained their stores had been looted, saying they found cash registers emptied while some alcohol stocks had been plundered and dozens of mobile phones had gone missing.

The looting sparked anger among several Kenyans who were already shocked by the terrorist attack that killed 67 people.

Authorities initially refused to admit that soldiers looted the shopping centre.

Karangi told parliament on 22 October that the troops only took drinks " to quench their thirst" and took other goods "to ensure their safety".

Kenyan police inspector General David Kimaiyo threatened journalists with arrest in response to media questions over the looting. He later backtracked on his position after an outraged response by rights groups and media organisations.