Terror Attack Rocks Nairobi - Newslibre

Terror Attack Rocks Nairobi: DusitD2 Complex Under Seige

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An upscale complex in Kenya’s capital known as DusitD2 has been attacked with witnesses and police at the scene are referring to it as a terror attack. The complex in Nairobi includes a large hotel known as DusitD2, banks and offices. Several vehicles are on fire and people are being rushed to hospital and away from the scene of the attack.

Reports about the attack came in after gunfire was heard for several minutes and later black smoke was seen rising from the scene probably caused by the explosion set off by the attackers.

Police spokesman Charles Owino says that, “We have sent officers to the scene, including from the anti-terrorism unit, but so far we have no more information.” Ambulances and security forces have rushed to the scene and reports coming in suggest that there has been one causality identified so far.

The attack immediately reminds many Kenyans of the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi in 2013, when al-Shabab extremists burst into the luxury shopping centre, hurling grenades and starting a days-long siege that left 67 people dead.

According to reports, al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Somali militant group al-Shabab told several Western media organizations that it was behind the attack, describing it as “ongoing.”

The Washington Post – Yvonne Nkirote, who works at the Red House communications firm, said she had stopped by the Amadiva nail salon when there was a massive explosion.

“I saw body parts and blood on the ground right outside,” she told The Washington Post as she was escorted out of the complex by police. There she was reunited with several work colleagues, and they burst into tears upon finding each other safe.

Everywhere outside the hotel were wounded people, and there were pools of blood on the ground.

The area is under lockdown and surrounded by heavily armed police with ambulances ferrying wounded people out of the scene. We are not yet sure about the number of causalities.

Update: More than 700 civilians were moved to safety during the 20-hour siege in the upmarket Westlands neighbourhood which ended on Wednesday morning.

Hours after police said all the terrorists had been “eliminated”, it emerged a “long-serving” SAS member had reportedly helped secure the hotel complex during the attack. He is said to have been in the country training and mentoring Kenyan Special Forces when the assault broke out.

The unnamed soldier can reportedly be seen in photos wearing a balaclava as he helps civilians flee the hotel and office complex.

The masterminds behind the DusitD2 Complex attack

From 15 to 16 January 2019, a coordinated attack against civilians occurred at the DusitD2 complex in Westlands District, Nairobi, Kenya. The attack began at around 14:30 EAT, shortly after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the centre of the complex at a restaurant. Four attackers associated with Harakat Al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen carried out a mass shooting for over 22 hours which left 21 civilians, one Kenyan soldier and all five militants dead.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published through the AS-affiliated Shahada News Agency shortly after the attack, with its external operations branch, the Saleh An-Nabhan Battalion, claiming to be responsible. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the five militants that carried out the attack were all “eliminated” by security forces following a 19-hour operation led by Kenyan forces.

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