Kenya hotel siege ends as forces kill terrorists
At least 14 people killed; president declares hostage crisis over
NAIROBI: Kenya’s security forces have killed the extremist gunmen whose assault on a luxury hotel and shopping complex took 14 innocent lives, the country’s president said on Wednesday.
“All the terrorists have been eliminated,” Uhuru Kenyatta said in announcing an end to the overnight operation to secure the complex in Nairobi.
In a televised address, Kenyatta did not say how many attackers were involved. He said more than 700 people were evacuated during the security operation and urged Kenyans to “go back to work without fear”, saying the East African country is safe.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard while scores of people were rescued at daybreak during what police called a “mopping-up” exercise. A new blast was heard in the afternoon as witnesses said security forces were making a sweep of the complex for any explosives.
Surveillance video showed the attack that began on Tuesday afternoon involved at least four armed men.
Al-Shabab - the extremist group allied to al-Qaida and based in neighbouring Somalia claimed responsibility for the carnage at the DusitD2 hotel complex, which includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks and is in Nairobi’s well-to-do Westlands neighborhood with many foreign expatriates. Al-Shabab carried out the 2013 attack at the nearby Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people.
The US state department confirmed that an American citizen was among the dead, and the company I-DEV International confirmed that its co-founder, Jason Spindler, had been killed. The British high commissioner in Kenya said at least one British national had been killed, without giving details.
Kenyan authorities sent special forces into the hotel to flush out the gunmen. Scores of people were rushed to safety in the early morning hours as explosions and gunfire continued.
“To God be the Glory. We have been rescued. Over 50 people in my group. No injuries,” tweeted a Kenyan businesswoman, Aggie Asiimwe Konde.
Describing the ordeal, Lucy Wanjiru said she had been trying to flee when she saw a woman on the ground floor get shot. She ended up in a washroom with several other scared people. Her friend Cynthia Kibe stayed in contact with her by phone overnight.
“I panicked when she told me that the gunshots are next to her,” Kibe said. “I had to keep telling her ‘Just wait, help is on the way, they are almost there, they are almost there.’ And then at one point she was like, ‘Please tell me I am getting out of here alive’ and then it was just like my breaking point.”
Mourning families and friends gathered at a nearby mortuary.
The coordinated assault began with an explosion that targeted three vehicles outside a bank, and a suicide bombing in the hotel lobby that severely wounded a number of guests, said Kenya’s national police chief, Joseph Boinnet. Kenyan hospitals appealed for blood donations even as the number of wounded remained unclear.
AP video from inside the hotel showed Kenyan security officers searching the building and scared workers emerging from hiding while gunfire could be heard.