Libya gunmen kill nine in IS-claimed attack on Tripoli hotel
Nine people including at least five foreigners were killed Tuesday in an assault on a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital Tripoli, a spokesman for the security services said.
The dead included three security guards killed in the initial attack on the Corinthia Hotel, five foreigners shot dead by gunmen, and another person taken hostage by the attackers, Issam al-Naass said.
Naass said that among the foreigners and the person taken hostage were an American, two Filipinas, a French citizen and a South Korean. He added that two of them were women.
The hostage died when the three gunmen blew themselves up after being surrounded on an upper floor, Naass said. "After being pursued and surrounded on the hotel's 24th floor, the attackers detonated explosive belts they were wearing."
Government officials in Washington and Paris confirmed the US and French deaths, with the American named by his company as a security contractor named David Berry.
The 24th floor of the hotel is normally used by Qatar's mission to Libya, but no diplomats or officials were present during the assault, a security source said.
The head of Libya's self-declared government, Omar al-Hassi, was inside the hotel at the time of the attack but was evacuated safely, Naass said.
The government in Tripoli said the attack was an assassination attempt on Hassi, blaming it on "enemies of the revolution and the war criminal Khalifa Haftar", a former general who last year spearheaded an operation against Islamist militias in Benghazi.
The Libya Observer news site also posted footage of the attack to Facebook, showing a blaze outside the hotel entrance.
A hotel source told the Anadolu Agency (AA) a group of foreigners taken hostage by gunmen had been released from the building after a rescue operation by security forces.
“The 12 foreigners have left the 21st floor to the 26th floor where they were rescued by security forces,” the unnamed source said. “The hotel is now empty.”
A hotel staff member told Associated Press news agency that “masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security at the gates tried to stop them. They entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby".
The staff member fled out a back exit of the hotel and into a car park alongside foreign guests.
Security camera stills said to show the attackers have been circulating on social media.
Claims of responsibility remain unconfirmed
A Twitter account linked to Islamic State (IS) said it had attacked the hotel. The claim could not be verified.
The Corinthia Hotel is popular with diplomats and journalists. While it was said to be “90 percent empty” on Tuesday the staff member who spoke to AP said there were Turkish, British, and Italian guests staying at the hotel.
The Corinthia previously came under attack in October 2013, when former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was taken briefly hostage by armed gunmen. He was later released unharmed.
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on social media, although it was not immediately clear how the militant organisation had directly planned and executed the operation.
In a message shared online, the militant group described the attack as “The Raid of Abu Anas al-Libi”.
Libi was captured by US Special Forces in Tripoli on 15 October 2013 and held in connection with the 1998 attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was accused of being involved with militant group al-Qaeda but died on 2 January before being tried in court.
Libi’s wife has accused US authorities of “killing an innocent man”.
Attack widely condemned
The EU condemned the attack as “another reprehensible act of terrorism which deals a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya”.
“The EU expresses solidarity with the victims and their families,” read a statement by High Representative Federica Mogherini. “The EU strongly supports the efforts of the ongoing UN led talks to bring a political solution based on respect and dialogue.”
Libya is in the midst of a brutal civil conflict that has seen rival cities, tribes, militias and governments battle for control of Africa’s largest oil reserves. The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has been brokering talks in an attempt to end the political impasse and form a unity government.
Negotiations continued in Geneva on Monday and UN Special Representative Bernadino Leon said participants had “clear determination” to reach an agreement. The discussions took place, however, without representatives from the reconvened General National Congress (GNC).
GNC members boycotted the meeting in protest at “attacks on state institutions” including a recent controversial incident at the central bank branch in Benghazi, which saw fighters allied to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) seize control of the building and prompt allegations by anti-government forces of assets being "stolen".
The HoR replaced the GNC after elections in June 2014 and is Libya’s internationally-recognised parliament. The GNC reconvened in Tripoli after the Misratan Led Alliance of Libya Dawn seized control in August last year.
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