Terrorists attack Dusit hotel in Nairobi

Security forces help civilians flee the scene as cars burn behind, at the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP photo)

NAIROBI: A huge blast followed by a gun battle rocked the DusitD2 hotel and office complex in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist group.

A witness said he saw five bodies at the hotel entrance alone. "It is terrible. What I have seen is terrible," said a man who ran from the scene, Charles Njenga.

At least 14 people were believed killed in the first terrorist wave and bomb attack. But all seven Thais employed at the compound, including four on duty at the time of the terrorist attack, reported they were safe. Other casualty reports were being assessed.

The DusitD2 compound includes a 101-room up-scale spa and hotel, restaurant and office buildings housing local and international companies. The blast was heard five kilometres away.

Gunfire continued more than two hours after the first shots were heard at the DusitD2 complex. It was not clear how many attackers took part.

"We are aware that armed criminals are holing up in the hotel, and special forces are now currently flushing them out," said Kenya's national police chief, Joseph Boinnet, describing the assault as a suspected terror attack.

Soldiers covered staff and customers as they fled the hotel following the terrorist invasion. (Reuters photo)

The DusitD2 is a 101-room hotel operated on a franchise-type contract that employs some Thais. It emphasises its spa. The site advertises itself as "a vibrant city hotel retreat, where style, entertainment and art converge. Authentic Thai Cuisine."

On Monday, the hotel had promoted its spa by tweeting: "Is your new year off to a rough start?"

Is your New Year off to a rough start? Schedule time for some R&R (Rest and Relaxation) @DevaranaSpa. Call us on +254 204 233 444 to book your SPA experience#dusitKEmoments #dusitdoesitbest #midweekmeltdown #spa #massage pic.twitter.com/JD8KO0LgcM — dusitD2 nairobi (@dusitD2nairobi) January 14, 2019

Al-Shabaab, which carried out a notorious assault on a Nairobi shopping mall in 2013, claimed responsibility, according to the SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist activities.

Elite police forces 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 that there are armed criminals still holed up and our officers are trying to flush them out," said Inspector General of police Joseph Boinnet.

"We regret to inform you that there have been injuries in the attack 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.

"We have no idea what is happening. Gunshots are coming from multiple directions," he said.

He later said that police had evacuated workers from the building, and it was not clear how many were still trapped.

"A lot of people ran when the first few explosions happened, there was a mad rush for the exit," he said.

John Maingi said there had been "a flash of lights and a loud bang" at the Secret Garden restaurant where he works.

"When I peeped outside I saw a human leg which has been cut off. We hid in the room and then some police officers rescued us," he said.

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

Police sirens echoed through the city and two helicopter buzzed overhead while ambulances with flashing lights lined up outside the hotel. (Report continues below)

A private security guard at the scene said he had seen four "gangsters" entering the compound.

"All police teams have been dispatched to the scene where the incident is. As at now we are treating it as anything, including the highest attack," police spokesman Charles Owino said by phone.

"All police teams including anti-terror officers are at the scene," he said.

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.

The Nairobi News filed a brief video report on the attack on its YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, the vast upscale Village Market shopping centre in northern Nairobi said on Twitter that it had closed temporarily as a "security precaution."

The US and UN condemned the attack.

A US State Department spokesperson called it a "senseless act of violence" and said the US embassy in Nairobi is closely monitoring the attack and working with Kenyan authorities to determine if any US citizens are affected.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned "the horrible terrorist act."

The attack at DusitD2 is the first in Nairobi in five years, when gunmen stormed the city's Westgate shopping mall, killing at least 67 people. The attack and ensuing siege lasted around four days.

That assault was also claimed by Somalia's Shabaab, which have been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007.

The Westgate attack resulted in many upscale establishments and shopping centres in the capital -- including the Dusit -- putting up strict security barriers checking vehicles and pedestrians.

The Shabaab targeted Kenya after it sent its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight the jihadist group.

On April 2, 2015, another Shabaab attack killed 148 people at the university in Garissa, eastern Kenya.

In its statement, the Shabaab noted the attack came exactly three years after its fighters overran a Kenyan military base in Somalia.

"This attack on Nairobi hotel came as Kenyans and their media are commemorating (the) El Adde attack," it said.

The Shabaab claimed more than 200 soldiers died in that assault. The government has refused to give its own toll or disclose details of the attack.