Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab on Tuesday dismissed comments by a Kenyan minister that Americans and a Briton were among the militants who attacked a shopping mall in Nairobi, and also said it had been in touch with the attackers.

“We have communicated with our mujahideen (fighters) in Westgate (mall) and they told us fighting has just started,” al Shabaab’s media office told Reuters. “Those who describe the attackers as Americans and British are people who do not know what is going on in Westgate building.”

Kenya’s foreign minister, Amina Mohammed, on Monday said that two or three Americans and one Briton were among those who attacked the Westgate mall.

A report by Associated Press (AP) records that during an interview with PBS’ “NewsHour” program, Mohammed disclosed that the Americans were 18 to 19 years old, of Somali or Arab origin and lived “in Minnesota and one other place” in the U.S. The attacker from Britain was a woman who has “done this many times before.”

More than 60 people have been killed in the assault on the upscale mall, which lasted for three days.

Gunfire erupted early on Tuesday, although the Kenyan authorities have said they are in control of the Westgate mall.