Al-Qaeda group claims Kenya attack; three dead

Bloomberg

Al-Qaeda-linked militants said they were behind an ongoing attack on an upmarket
hotel and office complex in Kenya’s capital that local media report claimed at least three lives.
Gunmen stormed the complex at 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi, which houses a Dusit Hotels & Resorts Co outlet, restaurants, banking facilities and offices, police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet said in a televised briefing.
“We are aware that there still could be some armed criminals still holed up in the building and special forces as I said are engaged in that
operation to drag them out,” he said.
“There could have been some injuries in the attack and we are in the process of confirming the nature and the type of injuries.”
Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility. If confirmed, it would be the group’s first major attack in Kenya since it raided a university campus in Garissa county in April 2015, killing at least 147 people.
Unidentified assailants disembarked from at least one car at the security gate and threw grenades at guards
as they entered the complex, according to Citizen TV, a local private broadcaster.
The Star, a Nairobi-based newspaper, reported three people were killed. Live TV footage showed police officers evacuating people from the scene.