Nairobi DusitD2 Hotel Attacked by Suspected Militants
Gunfire
and blasts were heard at the compound in the Westlands district of the Kenyan
capital, which houses the DusitD2 hotel as well as offices.
The
Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab said it was behind the attack but gave
no details.
People
- some with bullet wounds and covered in blood - were escorted out of the
building by heavily armed police.
The attack began at
about 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT). The gunmen threw bombs at vehicles in the
car park before entering the lobby, where one blew himself up, Kenyan police
chief Joseph Boinnet told reporters.
A
woman working in a neighbouring building told Reuters news agency: "I just
started hearing gunshots, and then started seeing people running away raising
their hands up and some were entering the bank to hide for their lives."
Police
then rushed to the scene. One officer told the BBC's Ferdinand Omondi at the
scene: "Things are not good. People are dying."
Mr
Boinnet later said most of main building had been secured, but police were still
working to flush out any surviving gunmen.
The
number of victims remains unclear. One photographer for Agence France-Presse
reported five bodies slumped over tables on a restaurant terrace in the
complex.
The five-star
DusitD2 hotel has 101 rooms. Located in the Westlands suburb, minutes from the
capital's business district, it has its own spa and several restaurants.
Kenya
has seen a number of terror attacks in recent years - most notably in areas
close to the Somali border and in the country's capital.
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