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| Kenyan soldiers clear the top floor balcony and interior of the Westgate mall in Nairobi |
London (AFP) - A Briton arrested in Nairobi following the bloody attack on a shopping mall by armed Islamists is "not of significant interest" to the investigation, the British High Commissioner said Wednesday.
Christian Turner, Britain's top diplomat in Kenya, made the comments in Nairobi and they were confirmed to AFP by a Foreign Office spokeswoman in London.
The Foreign Office earlier confirmed the arrest but declined to say whether it was linked to the bloody siege on the Westgate mall, in which 67 people were killed.
"We can confirm the detention of a British national in Nairobi and we are making contact to offer standard consular assistance," a spokeswoman told AFP.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said Monday that a British woman was among the attackers, although this contradicted earlier statements from Kenyan officials who said they were all male.
The Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said: "We are aware of these reports that a British national was among the terrorists and we're looking into them, but we are not going to speculate on that."
The Daily Mail newspaper reported Wednesday that a 35-year-old British man was detained at passport control as he prepared to fly out of Nairobi on Monday afternoon.
He had apparently attracted attention because of bruising to his face, his dark glasses and suspicious behaviour.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an end to the 80-hour bloodbath in Nairobi late Tuesday. Sixty-one civilians and six members of the security forces were killed.
Kenyatta said five attackers were killed and 11 suspects detained.
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