An upscale hotel complex in Kenya’s capital came under attack on Tuesday, with a blast and heavy gunfire. Witnesses and police at the scene called it a terror attack.
The complex in Nairobi’s Westlands neighbourhood includes a large hotel known as DusitD2, banks and offices.Several vehicles burned. People were being rushed, even carried, from the scene.
Gunfire continued several minutes after the first reports. Black smoke rose from the scene.
A glass damaged by bullets is seen at the scene where explosions and gunshots were heard at the Dusit hotel compound, in Nairobi, Kenya January 15, 2019.
“We have sent officers to the scene, including from the anti-terrorism unit, but so far we have no more information,” police spokesman Charles Owino said.
Ambulances, security forces and firefighters rushed to the scene, sirens wailing. A large group of women were hurried out by security forces, one woman still in hair curlers. Other groups were hurried away as plainclothes officers went shop to shop in the complex.
What appeared to be plainclothes security forces inched their way toward the scene, guns in hand. Helicopters could be heard. Other people appeared to be taking cover behind fountains and other features in the lush outdoor complex.
The attack immediately reminded many Kenyans of the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi in 2013, when al-Shabab extremists burst into the luxury shopping centre, hurling grenades and starting a days-long siege that left 67 people dead.
The attack came three years to the day after al-Shabab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in neighbouring Somalia, killing scores of people. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab objects to the presence of Kenyan troops in the turbulent Horn of Africa nation.
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