NAIROBI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and several others injured after al-Shabab terrorists struck an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi on Tuesday, the police and witnesses said.
About four gunmen armed with rifles and grenades drove to the heavily guarded 14 Riverside Drive which hosts several office blocks and DusitD2 Hotel and staged a deadly attack leaving a trail of destruction.
A witness at the scene told Xinhua he counted six bodies. Huge explosions followed by gun shots rent the air on Tuesday afternoon as the attackers stormed one of Kenya's most secure business complexes that is home to high-end offices and hotels.
Joseph Boinnet, Inspector General of Police, confirmed there was an explosion at the hotel foyer and some guests were injured. Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the attack.
Boinnet, who could not give the official number of casualties, said the gunmen arrived at the entrance of the hotel at about 3 p.m. local time and alighted before one of them started to shoot aimlessly.
"I would like to confirm that the ongoing operations to respond to the attack that happened at DusitD2 complex have made considerable progress in containing the situation and various premises have been secured that had been taken over by the criminals," he told journalists in Nairobi.
He said elite security units had cordoned it off to pave way for evacuation and search for assailants.
"The situation is being managed and residents are being screened and evacuated from the area. We are aware that armed criminals are holding up in the hotel and specialist forces are now currently flushing them out," he told reporters.
Witnesses said the gang first shot and seriously wounded two university students who were walking out of their hostels.
The gunshots alerted police guarding the nearby Australian embassy. The officers rushed there and engaged the gunmen in a gunfight deflating the saloon car the terrorists had.
"The officers managed to drive the terrorists to the hotel main entrance. At the entrance, guards who were on duty escaped on foot on witnessing the shootout," a witness named Shadrack Kirui said.
It was at that point that one of the attackers lobbed a grenade at three cars that were parked at the main barrier setting them on fire. They were burnt to ashes.
The terrorists then proceeded to the main hotel lobby where one of them detonated an explosive device he had on his body. His limb was blown out of the lobby to the main corridor about 40 meters away.
At the lobby lay about five bodies, mostly revelers who were there, according to a witness. But police who visited the scene said the number could be more than ten. One victim died in hospital, the police said.
There were sustained gunshot sounds that followed as the team that had arrived at the scene sought reinforcement from special forces.
Several people with multiple injuries were rescued minutes later. Most of them were cleaners at the hotel. They said they were hit by flying objects after the explosive went off.
The latest terrorist attack that bore eerie semblance to the one that occurred at Westgate shopping mall located in Nairobi's Westlands suburb in September 2013 sent shock waves across the East African country that had experienced a prolonged lull.
The security forces and evacuation teams acted promptly to contain the situation as reports indicated that several attackers were holed up inside the expansive business complex.
Bonnet revealed that rescue teams were taking stock of the number of people who sustained injuries following the attack while the number of casualties was yet to be independently verified by the time of going to press.
A helicopter has been seen flying low at the scene and some Kenyan hospitals are appealing for blood donations.
Foreign embassies in Kenya issued security alerts to their citizens following the terrorist attack.
The al-Shabab terrorist network timed it with the third anniversary since they staged an onslaught at a camp for Kenyan soldiers located near southwestern Somalia town of El Adde. Scores of Kenyan soldiers died when al-Shabab fighters stormed their camp near El Adde town on Jan. 15, 2016 and the East African nation has not experienced a major terrorist attack since then.
The al-Shabab militants were also responsible for the April 2, 2015 attack at Garissa University in northeastern part of Kenya where they killed 148 students and subordinate workers.
Security experts said the latest terrorist attack was a wake-up call for Kenyan security apparatus to heighten vigilance since it remained prone to infiltration by foreign militant groups.
Mwenda M'bijjiwe, a Nairobi-based security analyst, said a new paradigm shift was an imperative to revitalize the war against terrorism in Kenya and across the Horn of African region.
