At least 14 people are killed after al-Shabaab terrorists storm hotel in Kenyan capital

A British man is said to be among at least 14 people killed in a terrorist attack in Kenya. He has not yet been identified.

The terrorists responsible for killing at least fourteen people in a Kenyan hotel on Tuesday have been “exterminated,” government officials have said.

The terrorists, who claimed to be from Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabab, were gunned down by Kenyan special forces after they opened fire and killed at least fourteen people at the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon.

The attack involved at least four armed men who invaded the hotel and shops in the five-star hotel complex.

Announcing the end of the operation to secure the DusitD2 complex in the capital, Mr Kenyatta said in a televised address on Wednesday morning: “All the terrorists have been eliminated.”

“The security operation at Dusit complex is over, and all the terrorists eliminated. As of this moment, we can confirm that 14 innocent lives were lost through the hands of these murderous terrorists,” said Mr Kenyatta.

In a televised address, Mr Kenyatta did not say how many attackers were involved.

He said more than 700 people were evacuated during the security operation and he urged Kenyans to “go back to work without fear”, saying the East African country is safe for citizens and visitors.

“From the means available to the security services and judicial arms, we will continue taking every step to make our nation inhospitable to terrorist groups and their networks,” said Mr Kenyatta.

Survivors reported hearing a shattering blast and saw people mown down by gunmen as they sat at a cafe. Victims were left lying on tables bleeding, reported The Guardian.

Although a morgue worker who saw the bodies of the slain said that 14 people have been killed, the Kenyan Red Cross believe that 24 people lost their lives in the attack.

“My heart goes out to innocent men and women violated by the senseless violence,” Mr Kenyatta added.

Al-Shabab – the Somalia-based extremist group that is allied to Al-Qaeda – claimed responsibility for the carnage at the DusitD2 complex, which includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks.

Al-Shabab has vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia to fight it since 2011, and has carried out several attacks against the Kenyan people.

Tuesday’s violence came three years to the day after al-Shabab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in Somalia, killing scores of people.

In 2015, the group carried out an attack in Kenya‘s Garissa University in 2015 that killed 147 people, mostly students.

The latest attack also came a day after a magistrate ruled that three men must stand trial in connection with the Westgate Mall siege, an attack carried out by the group in 2013 which killed 71 shoppers and injured 170 others.

The Dusit D2 complex is situated in Nairobi’s well-to-do Westlands neighbourhood, popular with many foreign expatriates.

Source: iNews