At least 15 killed in Al-Shabaab attack on hotel in Kenya's capital

Kenyan officials say that at least 15 people have been killed in an attack by the Islamist group Al-Shabaab on a luxury hotel in the capital of the country; among the dead are several foreign nationals in addition to Kenyan citizens. The recent attack by Al-Shabaab in Kenya occurred on January 15, and explosions and gunfire were heard for hours after the incident. Al-Shabaab, a branch of Al-Qaeda in Somalia, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Fred Matiang'i, Kenya's Interior Minister, stated that the attack site has been surrounded by security forces and that people have exited the area. However, Mr. Matiang'i has not yet provided specific details about the current status of the attackers, only mentioning that security and police forces are in the final stages of 'cleansing' the area. At least one U.S. citizen and one British citizen were also killed during the attack on Tuesday. The assault began with an explosion inside the complex at 3 PM, followed by a suicide bomber detonating in one of the lobbies. After that, the attackers entered the premises and began shooting. Al-Shabaab had also targeted Nairobi in a series of attacks in 2013, where the attackers killed at least 67 people in the Westgate shopping mall assault. The target of Tuesday's attack, like Al-Shabaab's previous operations, was the upscale areas of Nairobi, which are frequented by foreign tourists. Although the current death toll is reported as 15, this number may rise. A police officer involved in the operation against the attackers told the Associated Press that he saw the bodies of the deceased in a restaurant at the site but stated that 'there was no opportunity to count the dead.' Al-Shabaab claimed on one of its news websites that 47 people were killed in this attack without providing details. An unnamed Kenyan security official told reporters that the country's security forces had been on alert for several months due to intelligence about potential attacks. Al-Shabaab split from the 'Islamic Courts Union,' a group of Sharia judges in Somalia. The group had between 7,000 to 9,000 fighters in 2014 but lost control of many major cities in Somalia by 2015. However, it still maintains a presence in many rural areas. Somalia is located northeast of Kenya, and nearly all of its citizens are Muslim. In contrast, over 80% of Kenya's citizens are Christian, and 15% are Muslim. Tourism is considered the second largest source of foreign income in Kenya.