Nine die as gunmen assault Tripoli hotel

TRIPOLI: Gunmen stormed a hotel in Tripoli popular with diplomats and officials on Tuesday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, killing at least nine people including five foreigners before blowing themselves up.
After setting off a car bomb outside the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Libya’s capital, three armed militants rushed inside and opened fire, Issam al-Naass, a spokesman for the security services, told AFP.
They made it to the 24th floor of the hotel, which is a major hub for diplomatic and government activity in Tripoli, before being surrounded by security forces and blowing themselves up, he said.
The dead included three security guards killed in the initial attack, five foreigners shot dead by the gunmen and a hostage who died when the attackers blew themselves up, he said.
At least five people were also wounded during the assault, including two Filipina employees hurt by broken glass from the car bomb explosion, he said.
The nationalities of the foreigners killed and the person taken hostage were not immediately known, but Naass said two of the foreigners were women.
The hotel’s 24th floor is normally used by Qatar’s mission to Libya but no diplomats or officials were present during the assault, a security source said.