NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Extremists launched a deadly attack on a luxury hotel in Kenya’s capital Tuesday, sending people fleeing in panic as explosions and heavy gunfire reverberated through the complex. A police officer said he saw bodies, “but there was no time to count the dead.”
Al-Shabab — the Somalia-based extremist group that carried out the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that left 67 people dead — claimed responsibility and said its members were still fighting inside.
“What I have seen is terrible,” said a man who ran from the scene, Charles Njenga. “There is what looks like minced meat all over.”
It was not clear how many attackers took part, but the bloodshed appeared to fit the pattern of attacks al-Shabbab often carries out in Somalia’s capital, with an explosion followed by a group of gunmen storming the place.
The attack left blood and glass all over, and as night fell, gunfire continued more than two hours after the first shots were heard. Several vehicles burned, sending black smoke rising over the complex, and people were rushed, some carried, from the scene.
Some ducked behind cars, screaming, while others took cover behind fountains and other features at the lush complex, which includes the DusitD2 hotel, along with bars, restaurants, banks and offices.
“We are aware that armed criminals are holing up in the hotel, and special forces are now currently flushing them out,” said Kenya’s national police chief, Joseph Boinnet, described the assault as a suspected terror attack.
He did not confirm any deaths and or say how many were wounded.
But a Kenyan police officer who was among the first on the scene said: “There was no time to count the dead but it is true that there are people who are dead.”
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said that some bodies were in restaurants downstairs and that colleagues saw others in offices upstairs.
The attack came a day after a magistrate ruled that three men must stand trial on charges they were involved in the Westgate Mall siege. A fourth suspect was freed for lack of evidence.
Gunfire continued several minutes after the first reports as
Ambulances, security forces and firefighters converged on the scene along with a bomb disposal unit, and vehicles were cordoned off for fear they contained explosives. Police said they blew up a car that had explosives inside. An unexploded grenade was also seen in a hallway at the complex.
Security forces hurried out a large group of women, one of them still in curlers. Dozens of others were rushed to safety as plainclothes officers went shop to shop in the complex. Some people held up their hands to show they were unarmed.
Al-Shabab has vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia since 2011. The al-Qaida-linked group has killed hundreds of people in Kenya, which has been targeted more than any other of the six countries providing troops to an African Union force in Somalia.
The attack immediately reminded many Kenyans of the Westgate Mall attack, when al-Shabab extremists burst into the luxury shopping center, hurling grenades and starting a days-long siege.
The hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands neighborhood is about a mile (2 kilometers) from Westgate Mall on a relatively quiet, tree-lined road in what is considered one of the most secure parts of the city. The hotel’s website says it is “cocooned away from the hustle and bustle in a secure and peaceful haven.”
The attack came three years to the day after al-Shabab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in Somalia, killing scores of people.
Kenya Attack: Witness says he saw 5 bodies
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Latest on the attack on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya (all times local):
8 p.m.
A witness to the attack on an upscale hotel complex in Kenya’s capital says he saw five bodies.
The man who only gave his name as Ken said the bodies were at the hotel entrance. He says other people were shouting for help and “when we rushed back to try rescue them, gunshots started coming from upstairs and we had to duck because they were targeting us and we could see two guys shooting.”
Separately, rescue workers say two of the people they rushed to a local hospital were dead on arrival. The rescue workers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
Authorities have not yet released any figures on dead or wounded.
7:30 p.m.
Some Kenyan hospitals are appealing for blood donations as the number of people wounded in an attack on an upscale hotel complex in Nairobi remains unknown.
Night has fallen and it is not immediately clear whether attackers are still active in the complex and how many people might be trapped or hiding inside.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It occurred a short distance from the Westgate Mall, which al-Shabab attacked in 2013, killing 67 people.
6:55 p.m.
A Kenyan police officer who was among the first on the scene of the attack on an upscale hotel complex says “there was no time to count the dead but it is true that there are people who are dead.”
The officer says some bodies were in restaurants downstairs and that colleagues saw others in offices upstairs.
The officer says blood and glass are all over and that gunfire continues. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
6:20 p.m.
Kenya’s national police chief says they are aware some attackers could still be inside an upscale Nairobi complex and that special forces are trying to flush them out.
Joseph Boinnet did not confirm any deaths and did not give a number of people injured in the attack in the Westlands neighborhood.
The police chief says they suspect this to be a “terror attack” and he urges people to remain calm. He says that police are looking forward to “bringing the situation to normalcy in the shortest time possible.”
Kenyans are watching the police response closely after officers took hours to respond to a deadly attack on the nearly Westgate Mall in 2013.
6:10 p.m.
The attack on an upscale hotel complex in Kenya’s capital comes a day after a magistrate’s court ruled that three men must stand trial on charges they were involved in a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in 2013.
The magistrate said Monday he was satisfied with prosecutors’ evidence linking the three suspects to the days-long siege of Westgate Mall in which 67 people were killed. A fourth suspect was freed for lack of evidence.
The Somalia-based Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack, and it has claimed responsibility for the one on Tuesday.
5:40 p.m.
Police say they have detonated a car they said had explosives inside. The blast sent people at the scene of an attack on an upscale complex in Nairobi’s capital ducking and screaming.
Officers have moved away from other vehicles they suspect of having explosives.
Other officers have been going shop to shop in the complex in the Westlands neighborhood. It is a short walk from Westgate Mall, which was the scene of a deadly extremist attack in 2013.
The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shaba has claimed responsibility for this attack.
5:35 p.m.
A witness says he saw at least two bodies at the scene of an attack on an upscale hotel complex in Kenya’s capital.
Robert Murire tells The Associated Press that he called emergency services.
He says he saw attackers wearing green and wrapped in ammunition. It was not clear how many people attacked. The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for the attack and said its members are still fighting inside.
Gunfire continues to be heard at the scene, sending some people ducking behind cars and screaming.
5:15 p.m.
The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for the attack on an upscale hotel complex in Nairobi and says its members are still fighting inside.
The al-Qaida-linked group issued the claim via its radio arm, Andalus.
Explosions and gunfire have been heard at the complex in the Westlands neighborhood as dozens of people are rushed from the scene.
At least one person in bomb disposal gear can be seen. An unexploded grenade has been seen in a hallway of the shopping complex.
4:59 p.m.
Civilians, including some women crying, ran away from the Nairobi hotel complex as sporadic gunfire was heard inside. One man escaping the attack, said he was hiding inside until he could run away. He said there was lots of shooting inside the complex.
4:40 p.m.
An armored vehicle has arrived at the ongoing attack on the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb on Riverside Drive. Police and army are at the scene. Plainclothes police are going from shop to shop to clear out trapped civilians who are running away from the complex.
As a car bomb smolders outside the gate, sporadic gunfire can be heard coming from the complex.
An upscale hotel complex in Kenya’s capital is under attack, with a blast and heavy gunfire. Witnesses and police at the scene are calling it a terror attack.
The complex in Nairobi includes a large hotel known as DusitD2, banks and offices. Several vehicles are burning. People are being rushed and carried from the scene.
Gunfire continues several minutes after the first reports. Black smoke rises from the scene.
Police spokesman Charles Owino says that “we have sent officers to the scene, including from the anti-terrorism unit, but so far we have no more information.”
Ambulances, security forces and firefighters have rushed to the scene, sirens wailing. A large group of women have been hurried out by security forces, one woman still in hair curlers.
What appear to be plainclothes security forces are seen inching their way toward the scene, guns in hand. Helicopters can be heard. Other people appear to be taking cover behind fountains and other features in the lush outdoor complex.
The attack immediately reminds many Kenyans of the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi in 2013, when al-Shabab extremists burst into the luxury shopping center, hurling grenades and starting a days-long siege that left 67 people dead.
By JOSEPH MWIHIA I Associated Press
Associated Press writer Abdi Guled in Nairobi contributed.
