Jan. 15 (UPI) — At least 15 people have been killed and several more injured in a terrorist attack Tuesday that involved a suicide bomber at an upscale hotel and office complex in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi.
Somalia-based terrorist group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack that comes on the third anniversary of its attack on a Kenya military camp in El Adde, Somalia, and one day after a Kenya court ruled that three suspected organizers of the 2013 Westgate Mall attack that left 67 dead and several wounded would stand trial.
Among the deceased are an American and a Briton, the Evening Standard reports, while Sky News reports that 11 were Keyan with the identities of the two others still unknown.
Thirty people have also been injured, reports The Star.
Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet said in a media briefing posted to Facebook the attack was well coordinated, beginning at around 3 p.m. local time with a raid on a bank, an explosion targeting three vehicles near the hotel’s entrance and a suicide bomber in the hotel’s foyer.
“However, owing to the swift and targeted response by our security agencies, the situation has been likely contained,” he said as the situation was ongoing.
Military and general service unit special forces arrived at the hotel shortly after the attack began as did military members of nearby embassies, reports Kenya’s The Standard.
A Kenya Air Force helicopter also responded to the attack, the Nation reported.
One man at the hotel used Twitter to communicate with relatives.
“I am … hiding in a bathroom and we are under attack,” he wrote. “There was a massive bombs blast then gunshots. HELP SOS.”
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