Hotel "Under attack" in Nairobi

[harrybarracuda]

An upmarket hotel complex in the centre of Nairobi has come under attack by gunmen believed to belong to the al-Shabaab terror group.


The Kenyan capital was rocked this afternoon by two blasts at the DusitD2 hotel, on a compound that is also home to offices.

Witnesses reported seeing four armed men entering the complex before the explosions, which were followed by gunfire.


In the moments after the explosions “fames and plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky from the parking lot of the compound where several vehicles were on fire”, says Al Jazeera, reporting that “scores of people” were seen fleeing on foot, some of them injured.

“One man came out covered in blood,” Reuters reports, while an image of the aftermath circulating on social media “showed what appeared to be a human leg” lying on a path outside the hotel.

The area was cordoned off by police as Kenyan security forces, including an anti-terror unit, took up stations around the compound and evacuated civilians away from the danger zone.

Footage uploaded to Twitter by BBC Africa correspondent Ferdinand Omondi appears to show uniformed and plain-clothes personnel closing in on the complex.


A reporter on the scene told Agence France Presse that security forces were exchanging shots with the gunmen.
Somalia-based Islamist terror group al-Shabaab has already claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes the day after jurors began to hear evidence in the trial of members of the group linked to a terrorist massacre at Nairobi’s Westgate mall in 2013, in which 67 people were killed.

The DusitD2 attack also falls three years to the day after al-Shabaab fighters ambushed a Kenyan military base in Somalia. More than 140 Kenyan soldiers were killed by a car bomb and ensuing firefight, the country’s largest military losses since it gained independence in 1963.

A spokesman for the group confirmed that its militants were “currently conducting an operation in Nairobi”, Al Jazeera reports.

https://www.theweek.co.uk/98979/nair...we-know-so-far

[Maanaam]

which comes the day after jurors began to hear evidence in the trial of members of the group linked to a terrorist massacre at Nairobi’s Westgate mall in 2013, in which 67 people were killed.

6 years waiting for a trial. Justice delayed is justice denied, and in this case, it is an opportunity for the supporters of the accused to plan revenge and maybe rescue by hostage swap.

[harrybarracuda]

Somali Islamists kill 15, including British and American, in Kenya hotel attack

The death toll from the deadly attack on a hotel complex in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi has risen to at least 15, according to police sources.

"We have 15 people dead as of now and that includes foreigners. You will be given more details on all this and even the nationalities by our seniors," a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A second source confirmed the toll but warned "there are areas not yet accessed but that's what we know so far."

Gunmen blasted their way into the hotel and office on Tuesday, sending workers diving under desks from an attack claimed by Somali Islamist group al Shabaab.

Eight hours after the assault began at Nairobi’s upscale 14 Riverside Drive complex, a burst of gunfire was heard in the area, suggesting the situation was not yet under control.

A British man and an American man were among those killed.

Scores of people were still hiding inside the complex, a security source said.

Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i said at 11pm that all buildings had been secured and scores of people evacuated from the scene.

But he did not comment on the attackers’ whereabouts and said security forces were still “mopping up”.

An hour after he spoke, the gunfire rang out. The power in the hotel was out, a Reuters journalist at the scene said.

Nairobi is a major expatriate hub, and the compound targeted contained offices of various international companies, in an echo of a deadly 2013 assault on a Nairobi shopping center in the same neighborhood.

“The main door of the hotel was blown open and there was a human arm in the street severed from the shoulder,” said Serge Medic, the Swiss owner of a security company who ran to the scene to help when he heard of the attack from his taxi driver.

Medic, who was armed, entered the building with a policeman and two soldiers, he said, but they came under fire and retreated.

An unexploded grenade lay in the lobby, he said.

“One man said he saw two armed men with scarves on their head and bandoliers of bullets,” Medic told Reuters, as gunfire echoed in the background.

Kenya has often been targeted by al Shabaab, who killed 67 people at the Westgate shopping center in 2013 and nearly 150 students at Garissa university in 2015. Al Shabaab says its attacks are revenge for Kenyan troops stationed inside Somalia, which has been riven by civil war since 1991.

More than six hours after Tuesday’s attack began, many office workers were still holed up inside the complex as officers escorted small groups to safety, some with their hands in their air.

Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet said the attack began around 3pm with an explosion targeting cars outside a bank followed by a detonation from a suicide bomber in the hotel lobby.

As he spoke, a Reuters reporter on the scene reported heavy gunfire, then an explosion shortly afterwards.


CCTV footage showed three attackers dressed in black running across the parking lot at 3.30 pm, shortly followed by a fourth.

At least two of the men were wearing green scarves in the close-up footage. One appeared to be wearing a green belt with grenades in it.


At least seven people were killed and 25 wounded, hospital officials and witnesses told Reuters. Two Kenyans in their early 30’s working with governance consultants Adam Smith International were among the dead, a family member said.

Both had young families, she said.

A Spanish national was among the injured, a Spanish diplomat told Reuters.


Simon Crump, an Australian who works for an international firm in the complex, barricaded himself inside a spare room with two other people. They waited there for about two hours for help to arrive, their minds racing.

“You’re hiding under a desk trying to figure out what’s going on, and you just don’t know, as there’s so much misinformation,” he said.

When soldiers finally reached the group, they instructed them to put their phones away and put their hands in the air as they made their way to safety.


The attack at DusitD2 is the first in Nairobi since gunmen stormed the city's Westgate shopping mall in 2013, killing at least 67 people. The attack and ensuing siege lasted around four days.

That assault was also claimed by Somalia's Shabaab, who have been fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu since 2007.

The Westgate attack resulted in many upscale establishments and shopping centres in the capital - including the Dusit - putting up strict security barriers checking vehicles and pedestrians.

The Shabaab targeted Kenya after it sent its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight the jihadist group.

On April 2, 2015, another Shabaab attack killed 148 people at the university in Garissa, eastern Kenya.


In its statement, the Shabaab noted the attack came exactly three years after its fighters overran a Kenyan military base in Somalia.

"This attack on Nairobi hotel came as Kenyans and their media are commemorating (the) El Adde attack," it said.

The Shabaab claimed more than 200 soldiers died in that assault, while the government has refused to give its own toll or disclose details of the attack.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/somali-i...a-hotel-attack

[misskit]

Kenyan forces kill militants who stormed Nairobi hotel

NAIROBI – Kenyan security forces have “eliminated” the militants who stormed an upscale hotel compound of the Bangkok-based Dusit hotel group, and killed at least 14 people in an attack claimed by Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.


Meanwhile, the Dusit International issued a statement to say that it was saddened by the violence at the DusitD2 complex and confirmed that all the Thai staffs were safe.


“We are extremely saddened by this act of violence and would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected,” said the statement posted on the group’s website. “Our highest concern is the safety and well-being of our guests and employees, and we are providing all support we can. The Royal Thai Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya has confirmed that all Thai staff are safe.”


It also said the hotel has been closed until further notice.


More than 700 civilians had been safely evacuated from the hotel after an attack that echoed a 2013 assault on a Nairobi shopping center that killed 67 people, according to President Kenyatta.


“The security operation at Dusit complex is over, and all the terrorists eliminated. As of this moment, we can confirm that 14 innocent lives were lost through the hands of these murderous terrorists,” Kenyatta said, looking drained and grave.


He did not specify how many assailants took part in the terrifying 20-hour siege. CCTV footage showed at least four.


“From the means available to the security services and judicial arms, we will continue taking every step to make our nation inhospitable to terrorist groups and their networks,” added Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding father, added.


The east African nation is a hub for expatriates and has often been targeted by al Shabaab in revenge for sending troops to help protect the weak, U.N.-backed government in Somalia.


The attack on the hotel began shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday with an explosion in the parking lot and then a suicide bomb blast in the foyer, police said.


At least two groups of people had still been trapped inside as dawn broke, and gunfire continued to ring out.


Eleven Kenyans, an American and a Briton were among the casualties, morgue staff said. Two victims were not identified.


Some victims had been dining in the Secret Garden restaurant and lay slumped at tables, photos seen by Reuters showed.


https://www.thaipbsworld.com/kenyan-...nairobi-hotel/

[misskit]

I feel so sorry for the Kenyans, getting caught up in this kind of attack. They’ve enough problems without terrorists.