Kenya attack: At least 15 killed as gunmen storm Nairobi hotel

At least 15 people were killed in a militant attack on a hotel complex in Kenya's Nairobi, with trapped workers still pleading for help. (Reuters)

The attack on the upscale hotel complex at 14 Riverside, by at least four gunmen, began shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday with an explosion in the parking lot and then a suicide bomb blast in the foyer of the dusitD2 Hotel, police said. Somali militant group Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility. In pic: A policeman takes position at the scene where explosions and gunshots were heard at the Dusit hotel compound. (Reuters)

Eleven Kenyans, an American and a Briton were among the casualties, morgue staff said. Two victims had not been identified. (Reuters)

Sporadic gunfire could be heard from the scene in the morning after scores of people were rescued at daybreak as police continued what they called a mopping-up exercise. (Reuters)

Kenyan police say there is still "an active security operation" Wednesday in and around the luxury hotel and shopping complex attacked by Islamic extremist gunmen. (Reuters)

Families who had gone to the Chiromo morgue seeking loved ones were told they could not view the bodies until a forensic investigation had been performed, provoking grief and anger. (AP)

The coordinated assault began with an explosion that targeted three vehicles outside a bank, and a suicide bombing in the hotel lobby that severely wounded a number of guests, said Kenya's national police chief, Joseph Boinnet. (REUTERS)