Attack on Libyan hotel leaves ten dead
January 27, 2015
Gunmen stormed the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli on Tuesday, beginning a standoff that killed five guards and four foreigners, ending only when the attackers took their own lives by setting off a grenade, officials said.
"The operation is over," said Essam al-Naas, a spokesman for a Tripoli security agency, adding that an investigation was underway and that the streets around the Corinthia would remain closed until further notice.
The assault began with a car bombing in front of the building, which killed one guard. The two assailants then entered the hotel favored by government officials and foreign dignitaries.
It was not clear if the two gunmen were the only ones involved in the attack, as the Tripoli branch of "Islamic State" (IS) took credit for it, said to be in honor of the death of Abu Anas al-Libi, an al Qaeda operative who died earlier this month in New York while awaiting trial for his role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa.
Since the ousting of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has been ravaged by internal fighting. The militia-backed Islamist government, which currently operates out of Tripoli, said the target of Tuesday's attack was their prime minister, Omar al-Hassi, who was unharmed.
es/kms (AP, AFP)