I recognised one of the attackers, says hotel staff
At least one suicide bomber blew himself up and gunmen engaged security forces in numerous shootouts during the assault on the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, spa, restaurant and office buildings.
Reuben Kimani, a barista who was rescued after several hours trapped inside the Dusit D2 hotel, has told journalists that he recognised one of the attackers as a client.
“I knew one of them because he had a big scar on one of his hands,” he said.
“I saw them. They shot six of my friends, four didn’t die but two succumbed.”
The last major attack in the country took place in 2015, when Shabaab killed 148 people at the university in Garissa, eastern Kenya.
Since then sporadic attacks have targeted security forces mostly in the remote northeastern parts of the country.
John Maingi said there had been “a flash of lights and a loud bang” at the Secret Garden restaurant where he works.
“When I peeped outside I saw a human leg which has been cut off. We hid in the room and then some police officers rescued us,” he said.