Al Shabab militants ‘eliminated’ after deadly 20-hour Nairobi siege
Five militants who stormed an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi were killed after an almost 20-hour siege in which at least 14 people died, the Kenyan police chief said yesterday.
“There were five terrorists and all of them are no more,” Joseph Boinnet told AFP.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Kenyans to “go back to work without fear” in a televised address yesterday, insisting the country was safe for citizens and visitors.
“I can confirm that the security operation at Dusit is over and all terrorists have been eliminated,” Mr Kenyatta said.
The DusitD2 is a hotel and office park that includes bars, restaurants, business headquarters and banks.
The complex was attacked on Tuesday afternoon, with gunfire continuing into yesterday.
The dead militants included a suicide bomber, two killed on Tuesday night and another two killed by security forces yesterday, police said.
At least 14 civilians died in the attack, Mr Kenyatta said, which was claimed by Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda affiliate. More than 700 civilians were rescued from the building.
Kenyan authorities did not say how many were wounded in the attack but one hospital reported it had received seven patients, most suffering from gunshot wounds.
Two of those died and the rest needed emergency surgery, said Dr Vishal Patel, medical director at MP Shah Hospital.
Kenyan police said early yesterday that there was still an “active security operation” around the complex.
Another explosion was heard at the scene yesterday afternoon, more than 24 hours after the attack began and after authorities had announced
that the site was secure. Authorities urged members of the public to stay away from the scene.
Of those killed in the attack 11 were Kenyans and the others foreign nationals. Many were dining at the Secret Garden restaurant at the complex when the attack began.
San Francisco company I-Dev International confirmed that American Jason Spindler was among the dead.
Spindler was the co-founder and managing director of the global strategy and investment consultancy. Nine other people in its Nairobi office were moved to safety. London company Adam Smith International said two of its employees were shot and killed during the attack.
Abdalla Dahir and Feisal Ahmed were killed on the terrace of a restaurant in the complex where the company has offices. About 50 more staff were moved to safety.
Police detained a man and two women after a raid on a house where one of the attackers lived
Scores of people were still being rescued at daybreak yesterday after a night trapped in the complex.
At least two groups of people remained in the hotel and business complex before 7am (8am UAE time).
Surveillance footage from the scene showed four gunmen dressed in black storming the hotel on Tuesday afternoon.
Families flocked to a morgue in the Kenyan capital to identify the dead but were told they could not view the bodies until a forensic investigation had been performed, provoking grief and anger.
Family members of one of the Kenyans killed collapsed in the courtyard after hearing that a body with his identification papers had arrived.
“He is gone, he is gone,” the father repeated into his phone as the victim’s mother wrapped a shawl around herself and wept.
Another family demanded to know whether their relative was there but were told only police were being given access.
As they argued with officials, an elderly couple arrived in silence, bringing a pressed suit to dress their son.
Outside the morgue, two Red Cross ambulances waited with their drivers asleep inside. They would drive to the complex to retrieve casualties when it was safe, morgue staff said.
Kenyan police said they detained a man and two women after a raid on a house where one of the Nairobi attackers was said to have lived.
Police said the suspects were being questioned to find out how they knew the man who lived at the house, as well as details of people who visited.
Their neighbours said they identified a vehicle that had been parked outside the hotel complex during the attack.