What we know so far of the attack in Westlands, Nairobi

Tuesday January 15, 2019

•     The attackers arrived using a car, KCN 340E, and another vehicle that advanced further in.
• They forced their way into 14 Riverside Drive and forced security guards to open the gate by shooting at them.
• They then advanced and hurled explosives into vehicles at the parking lot before making their way into Dusit D2 Hotel which houses several offices and hotels.
•  The vehicle used by the attackers has been cordoned and the Bomb and Hazardous Disposal Unit is preparing to scrutinise it to establish whether it has explosives.

•     Response teams including the Recce Squad, Flying Squad, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the bomb squad led by Director DCI George Kinoti have responded.

•  Currently, police are trying to establish exactly where the attackers are using a map of the building so that they can advance into the Dusit D2.
•  One suspect has been arrested and many people rescued in the ongoing operation as police comb DusitD2 Hotel for more attackers.
• The area has since been cordoned off and motorists are advised to use alternative routes to facilitate smooth operations by the Police.
•  The whereabouts of the attackers, whom witnesses said are about six, is still unknown.
• Three people with gunshot wounds from the attack have been rushed to the Aga Khan University Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital.
• Attack comes exactly three years after the El Adde attack in Somalia where over 100 KDF soldiers were killed.
• Other injured people have been taken to M P Shah and Avenue hospitals.
  Many of those who were trapped inside different apartments near the scene attack continue being rescued.
• Avenue Hospital in Parklands has so far received eight casualties, one in critical condition while another one is a pregnant woman.
• The Aga Khan Hospital also reports having received four casualties – three men and one “non-African” woman.
• The biggest challenge so far is getting those injured to hospitals as there is heavy traffic preventing ambulances from leaving the scene of the attack.
• Police IG Joseph Boinnet says that security agencies are doing their best to bring the situation to an end as quickly as possible.
• Mr Boinnet has said that the attackers are suspected to be terrorists and that specialist police forces are flushing them out.