Al-Shabaab kills 12 in Kenyan hotel

Kenya Red Cross staff console relatives of the civilians killed following an attack at the Bisharo lodging by Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab in Mandera, at the Chiromo mortuary in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya

Kenya Red Cross staff console relatives of the civilians killed following an attack at the Bisharo lodging by Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab in Mandera, at the Chiromo mortuary in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya

Published Oct 25, 2016

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Nairobi - Militants from the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab opened fire inside a hotel in north-eastern Kenya after bombing the building to gain access, killing at least 12 people.

The assailants entered the Bishaaro Hotel in the town of Mandera with explosives and then proceeded to shoot guests in their rooms, said Mohamoud Saleh, the regional commissioner for North Eastern Kenya.

Bomb experts were combing the area, while police were following several leads, said Saleh. Police were reportedly still working to identify the bodies.

Six people were rescued from the debris of the partially collapsed hotel several hours after the attack started in the early hours of Tuesday.

“We don't know how many people are still trapped there in the rubble but efforts to reach them are ongoing,” a police officer told the Standard newspaper.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the hotel attack on pro-insurgent Somali radio station Andalus.

The extremists, who are seeking an Islamist state in the horn of Africa and are affiliated with the international al-Qaeda terrorist network, attack government facilities and hotels in Kenya and neighbouring Somalia on a regular basis.

SAPA - dpa

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