"We have ashamed and defeated our attackers," President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address. "That part of our task has been completed by our multi-agency security team … Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed."
Declaring three days of mourning, Kenyatta said the nation had experienced "immense" losses and praised the solidarity of Kenyans in response to the attack.
Kenyatta said that 61 civilians and six members of the security forces had been killed, with 62 injured. Towards the end of the operation, three floors of the complex collapsed and some bodies – including those of terrorists – remained in the rubble, he said.
"I promise that we shall have full accountability for the mindless destruction, deaths, pain, loss and suffering we have all undergone as a national family. These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices, wherever they are."
But while he said "the worst" of the crisis was now over, it was unclear whether Kenyan security forces had finally accounted for all the militants after four days of explosions and gunfire.
Kenyatta also failed to quell intense speculation that a British woman and several Americans may have been among the attackers, saying the information could not be confirmed.