5 foreigners, 3 guards killed in Libyan hotel attack

January 27, 2015 04:06 pm | Updated April 02, 2016 12:27 am IST - TRIPOLI

Security forces surround Corinthia hotel after a car bomb in Tripoli, Libya on Tuesday.

Security forces surround Corinthia hotel after a car bomb in Tripoli, Libya on Tuesday.

Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Libya’s capital Tuesday, killing at least five foreigners and three guards, authorities said.

The attack, which included a car bombing, struck the Corinthia Hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea.

Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the so-called Special Deterrent Force, told al-Nabaa that the situation was “under control” on Tuesday afternoon, though he couldn’t confirm the whereabouts of the gunmen. He also said five foreigners were killed, without elaborating.

Another security official earlier said the gunmen killed three guards and took hostages, but had no further information on the captives’ identities. He also said that two commercial landmark towers behind the hotel were evacuated out of security concerns.

A hotel staffer said five masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security at the gates tried to stop them. He said they entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby.

The staffer said the gunmen fired in his direction when he opened his door to look out. He said he joined the rest of the staff and foreign guests fleeing out the hotel’s back doors into the parking lot.

When they got there, he said a car bomb exploded in the parking lot, only a hundred metres away. He said this came after a protection force entered the lobby and opened fire on the attackers. He said two guards were immediately killed. He said the car bomb left at least five cars in the parking lot burned and damaged some windows in the hotel’s facade.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.