In January 2015, the
Corinthia Hotel in
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
was attacked by men affiliated with the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL).
The hotel was popular with foreign officials and government workers; it had previously housed the Libyan Prime Minister.
Attack
In the early hours of 27 January 2015, ISIL-affiliated men detonated a car bomb in the parking garage of the hotel. In the chaos, an estimated 5 gunmen stormed past the local guard and entered the hotel, intent on killing guests.
Some of the attackers survived the initial contact, leading to a protracted hostage situation.
Victims
Five foreigners died in the attack: one American, one Frenchman, and three Tajiks (including two women). The American, David Berry, was working as a contractor for an American security firm named Crucible. Five Libyan security personnel are also reported to have died in the attack.
Perpetrators and motivations
The attack was carried out by men belonging to ISIL's "
Tripoli Province
Tripoli Province (''Provincia di Tripoli'' in Italian) was one of the provinces of Libya under Italian rule. It was established in 1937, with the official name: ''Commissariato Generale Provinciale di Tripoli''. It lasted until 1947.
Characteristi ...
", who are believed to have been natives of Libya. The attackers' stated objective was revenge for the death of
Abu Anas al-Libi
Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'i, ar, نزيه عبد الحميد نبيه الرقيعي Libyan pronunciation: known by the alias Abu Anas al-Libi ( ; ar, ابو أنس الليبي Libyan pronunciation: ; 30 March 1964; or 14 ...
, a Libyan
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
operative who was involved in the
bombing of two American embassies in 1998. He was captured by American forces inside Libya in 2013, and died in an American hospital on 2 January 2015.
[
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See also
* ISIL takeover of Derna
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corinthia Hotel attack
Suicide bombings in 2015
ISIL terrorist incidents in Libya
Mass shootings in Africa
21st century in Tripoli
Crime in Tripoli
Attacks on hotels in Africa
January 2015 events in Africa
Terrorist incidents in Libya in 2015
2015 murders in Libya
2015 mass shootings in Africa
Mass murder in 2015
Hotel bombings