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the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...grabbed credit for an attack in an upscale neighbourhood in the Kenyan capital.
Two kabooms and gunfire were heard at an upscale hotel and office complex in Kenya’s capital on Wednesday afternoon, said a woman working in a neighbouring building.
"We are under attack," another person in an office inside a complex in the Dusit hotel told the Rooters news agency, then hung up. Local television showed smoke rising from the area.
The Nairobi police commander Philip Ndolo said they had cordoned off the area around Riverside Drive due to a suspected robbery.
Flames and plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky from the parking lot of the compound where several vehicles were on fire, with scores of people fleeing the compound, some of them lightly injured.
Somalia-based gang al-Shabaab grabbed credit for the attack that came a day after the trial began in deadly Westgate mall attack case that left 67 people dead.
"We are currently conducting an operation in Nairobi," the group’s military operations front man told Al Jazeera.
Kenyan prosecutors say the four suspects committed a "terrorist act" under Kenya’s anti-terrorism laws and used false documents. The men deny all the charges.
The country faced a spate of attacks after it sent its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight the al-Qaeda-linked group.
Tuesday attack comes exactly three years after the gang overrun a Kenyan army base in Somalia killing dozens of soldiers.
| Al Jazeera adds: |
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an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia...claims coordinated assault in upscale hotel complex in Kenyan capital, with reports of at least 15 killed.
More than 12 hours after Tuesday's attack began at Nairobi's Dusit hotel complex, which also includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks, bursts of gunfire and kabooms were still heard in the area despite earlier government assurances that everything was under control.
The shots rang out at around 3:30am local time (00:30 GMT) as a group of around 150 workers was escorted from a building where they had sought refuge. Many more remained inside and some needed first aid for gunshot wounds, a first responder told Rooters news agency.
Kenya's Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i had said at 11pm that all buildings at the scene had been secured and scores of people evacuated. But he did not comment on the attackers' whereabouts and said security forces were still "mopping up".
By 1am local time, 15 bodies had arrived at Chiromo Mortuary and more were expected, an attendant told Rooters news agency. Identification papers indicated that 11 were Kenyan, one was from the United States and one from Britannia, he said. The other two were not carrying documents.
A Kenyan police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was also quoted by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency as saying that 15 bodies had been taken to the morgue.
The US State Department confirmed that a US citizen was among those killed, but did not release the identity of the victim.
Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the western-backed government in Somalia, grabbed credit for the attack, saying on Tuesday that it was in control of most parts of the building complex.
"Our fighters killed 47 enemies inside the complex. The mujahideen are still in control of most parts of the building complex," Abdiaziz Abu Mus'ab, the group's military operations spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.
Authorities did not comment on the number of the attackers but Kenya's Citizen TV aired security-camera footage that showed at least four heavily gunnies in dark-coloured, paramilitary-style gear.
No casualty figures have been released by officials, but witnesses reported seeing several bodies.
A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to news hounds said bodies were seen in restaurants downstairs and in offices upstairs, but "there was no time to count the dead."
A witness who gave his name only as Ken said he saw five bodies at the hotel entrance.