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Nairobi attack: 'Briton among 15 killed' as gunmen open fire on luxury hotel complex in Kenya capital

A British man was among 15 people killed in a militant attack on a luxury hotel in Nairobi, it has been reported.

Extremist militants stormed the luxury DusitD2 hotel complex on Tuesday, setting off explosions and gunning people down.

Special forces were sent into the hotel in the Kenyan capital to flush out the gunmen believed to be holed up inside.

At least 15 people were killed, including the Briton and an American woman, according to reports.

The area includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks and is popular with many American, European and Indian expatriates.

Al-Shabab - the Somalia-based group that carried out the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that left 67 people dead - has claimed responsibility.

(AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The situation is ongoing. We are in contact with the Kenyan authorities who are coordinating a response and stand ready to assist as required."

Late on Tuesday night, Interior Minister Fred Matian'i said that all of the buildings affected by the attack had been secured.

He did not give a death toll and the number of attackers was not clear.

In 2013, al-Shabab extremists burst into the nearby Westgate Mall, hurling grenades and starting a days-long siege that left 67 people dead.

That attack came three years to the day after al-Shabab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in neighbouring Somalia, killing scores of people.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab objects to the presence of Kenyan troops in the turbulent Horn of Africa nation.