Kenya: al-Shabaab-claimed Hotel Attack Kills More Than A Dozen

Kenyan authorities say that at least 15 people have been killed and 30 wounded Tuesday following an attack on a luxury hotel complex in the country’s capital Nairobi.

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"That (attack) began with an attack at I&M bank with an explosion that targeted three vehicles in the parking lot and a suicide bomb," Kenya police chief Joseph Boinnet said, adding that law enforcement was working assiduously to secure the premises floor-by-floor.

Heavy gunfire exchange and multiple explosions continued for some 12 hours, spilling over into early Wednesday as security personnel engaged the four gunmen, who - according to Reuters, citing police officials - launched explosives at vehicles prior to detonating devices attached to their bodies.

The Kenyan Government stressed that the death toll is an estimation, adding that the number of fatalities could increase.

A U.S. citizen is among the dead, according to the US State Department.

Security forces rescued more than 100 people from the complex, while about 30 people were transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment.

Militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the assault that was carried out on a compound which houses several offices as well as the upscale five-star DusitD2 hotel.

Kenya has experienced several terror attacks in recent years. Al-Shabaab killed 67 people at the Westgate shopping center in 2013 and nearly 150 students at Garissa University in 2015.