ABUJA: An Indian man was shot when he failed to answer a question on Islam asked by Somalian terrorists who were holding hostages after killing 68 people at an upmarket mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The heavily armed gunmen belonging to al Qaida-linked Somali militant group al Shabab, reports said, were trying to weed out non-Muslims for execution by interrogating people on their faith or asking them to recite the 'Shahada'.

On the second floor of Westgate, Nairobi's swankiest shopping mall, Joshua Hakim saw gunmen, some of whom looked to be teenagers, strapped with ammunition belts, carrying AK-47 assault rifles. "They were firing indiscriminately, they shot a lot of people," he said.

During a lull in the firing, the attackers called out for Muslims to identify themselves and leave, British newspaper The Guardian quoted Hakim as saying.

Covering the Christian name on his ID with his thumb, Hakim approached one of the attackers and showed them the plastic card.

"They told me to go. Then an Indian man came forward and they said, 'What is the name of Muhammad's mother?' When he couldn't answer they just shot him."

It was not clear from the report whether the Indian was injured or fatally shot.

Some Indians were among 68 people killed by the Islamist terrorists in the packed mall. Five Indians, including two women and a girl, were among nearly 200 people injured in the brazen attack on the part Israeli-owned mall.