TORONTO (REUTERS) - At least two Canadians, including a diplomat, were among those killed when gunmen stormed a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Saturday.

The diplomat was Annemarie Desloges, 29, who worked for Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Department at its embassy in Nairobi. She had worked as a public servant for the Canadian government since 2008 and was previously posted to Delhi.

"Acts of terror cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Canadian staff at our mission are offering Kenyan authorities every possible assistance to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice," Mr Harper said in a statement.

The gunmen killed at least 39 people, including close relatives of Kenya's president and children, in an attack claimed by the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab.