A woman cries as she is reunited with family after being evacuated from the DusitD2 compound in Nairobi after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the upmarket hotel complex on January 15, 2019. Fifteen people have died in an Islamist attack on an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenyan police sources said on January 16, as fresh explosions and gunfire rang out in the siege which stretched into its second day.
Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
A woman cries as she is reunited with family after being evacuated from the DusitD2 compound in Nairobi after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the upmarket hotel complex on January 15, 2019. Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
There was mourning in Kenya on Tuesday following a terrorist attack on upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, the country’s capital.
The explosion that claimed 15 lives was however claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group.
At least one suicide bomber blew himself up at the hotel while gunmen sprayed fire before engaging security forces and holding themselves up at the premises as civilians fled or barricaded themselves in their offices awaiting rescue.
“We have 15 people dead as of now and that includes foreigners,” a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Among the dead was an American citizen, a State Department official said.
A second police source confirmed the toll but warned: “there are areas not yet accessed but that’s what we know so far.”
After 12 hours trapped inside the complex, a group of dozens of people was freed at 3:30 am (1230GMT), according to an AFP journalist at the scene, followed by fresh gunfire and a detonation.
Security forces worked throughout the night to secure the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, spa, restaurant and office buildings after an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab Islamists on Tuesday afternoon.
A man walks past bullet marks on a glass outside the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb on January 15, 2019, in Kenya, after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the upmarket hotel and office complex, in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group. The explosion at the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, restaurant and office buildings housing local and international companies, was heard from AFP’s bureau some five kilometres (three miles) away.
SIMON MAINA / AFP
A firefighter extinguishes burning vehicles in Nairobi, Kenya January 15, 2019, after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the DusitD2 upmarket hotel and office complex, in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group.
SIMON MAINA / AFP
A woman cries as she is reunited with family after being evacuated from the DusitD2 compound in Nairobi after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the upmarket hotel complex on January 15, 2019. Fifteen people have died in an Islamist attack on an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenyan police sources said on January 16, as fresh explosions and gunfire rang out in the siege which stretched into its second day.
Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
Bullet marks are seen on the doors of an elevator in the building attached to the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 15, 2019, after a blast followed by a gun battle rocked the upmarket hotel and office complex, in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group. The explosion at the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, restaurant and office buildings housing local and international companies, was heard from AFP’s bureau some five kilometres (three miles) away.
KABIR DHANJI / AFP
Bodies of victims are seen at the terrace of a restaurant after the bomb attack at a hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb on January 15, 2019, in Kenya. A huge blast followed by a gun battle rocked an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi on January 15, 2019, causing casualties, in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group.
Kabir DHANJI / AFP
Kenyan Security Forces arrive to the scene of an on going terrorist attack at a hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb on January 16, 2019. Fifteen people have died in the Islamist attack on an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenyan police sources said on January 16, as fresh explosions and gunfire rang out in the siege which stretched into its second day.
Luis Tato / AFP
Kenyan Security Forces arrive to the scene of an on going terrorist attack at a hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb on January 16, 2019. Fifteen people have died in the Islamist attack on an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenyan police sources said on January 16, as fresh explosions and gunfire rang out in the siege which stretched into its second day.
