PHOTOS: Kenya's security forces kill gunmen in deadly Nairobi hotel attack
Kenyan security forces have killed the militants who stormed an upscale Nairobi hotel compound, taking at least 14 lives and forcing hundreds of others to make terrifying escapes, the government said on Wednesday.
More than 700 civilians were evacuated from the dusitD2 complex after a 20-hour siege that echoed a 2013 assault that killed 67 people in Nairobi's Westgate shopping center in the same neighborhood.
"The security operation at dusit complex is over, and all the terrorists eliminated," President Uhuru Kenyatta told the nation, looking drained and grave.
The attack was claimed by Somali group al Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate fighting an insurgency to topple the weak U.N.-backed government and impose strict Islamic law.
Air strikes against the group have stepped up under President Donald Trump, but Tuesday's attack showed it retains ability to strike outside Somalia's borders.
Neighboring Kenya, a hub for expatriates, became a frequent target for al Shabaab after sending troops into Somalia to try to create a buffer zone along the long, porous border. (Reuters)
Photos from top: Ben Curtis/AP (2), Baz Ratner/Reuters, Ben Curtis/AP, Njeri Mwangi/Reuters
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