Blast, gunfire in attack at Nairobi hotel complex

A huge blast followed by a gun battle rocked an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi on Tuesday in an attack claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group.

The explosion at the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, restaurant and office buildings housing local and international companies, was heard some 5km away.

Al-Shabaab, which carried out a notorious assault on a Nairobi shopping mall in 2013, claimed responsibility.

Police evacuated terrified workers barricaded in offices after an hour of sustained gunfire as they engaged the attackers. Sporadic shots were still heard hours after the blast.

“We are aware there are armed criminals still holed up and our officers are trying to flush them out,” said Inspector General of police Joseph Boinnet.

“There have been injuries and we are in the process of confirming the numbers.”

Simon Crump, who works in the complex, said terrified workers barricaded themselves inside their offices after “several” explosions.

Police later evacuated some workers from the building, but it was not clear how many were still trapped.

Shortly after the attack began, flames and plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky from the parking lot where several cars where ablaze.

Sirens echoed through the city and two helicopters buzzed overhead while ambulances lined up outside the hotel.

A private security guard said he had seen four “gangsters” entering the compound.

A reporter saw a bomb disposal squad blow up a car which they said had been used by the attackers to arrive at the complex.

Somalia’s Shabaab has targeted Kenya for sending its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight the jihadist group. –