NAIROBI: Extremists launched a deadly attack on a luxury hotel in Kenya’s capital on Tuesday, sending people fleeing in panic as explosions and heavy gunfire reverberated through the complex. A witness said he saw five bodies at the hotel entrance alone.
Al-Shabab — the Somalia-based Islamic extremist group that carried out the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that left 67 people dead — claimed responsibility.
As night fell, gunfire continued more than two hours after the first shots were heard at the complex in a well-to-do neighborhood with large numbers of American, European and Indian expatriates. It was not clear how many attackers took part.
A Kenyan police officer said that bodies were seen in restaurants downstairs and in offices upstairs, but “there was no time to count the dead.” Also, a witness who gave his name only as Ken said he saw five bodies at the entrance. (AP)
