} The 2019 DusitD2 complex attack was a

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

that occurred from 15 to 16 January 2019 in the

Westlands Westlands is an affluent, mixed-use commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Location Westlands is located approximately , by road, northwest of the central business district of Nairobi. The geographical coordinates of the neighb ...

area of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya, which left 22 civilians and all five terrorists dead.

Background

The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has been opposed to Kenyan involvement in the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta wh ...

. The terrorist group had previously attacked the suburb of Westlands during the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack, which left 67 people dead. In 2015, Al-shabaab terrorists were involved in

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

Garissa University College Garissa University is a public university in Garissa, Kenya. Its charter was awarded on October 23, 2017 by President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. Overview Garissa University was founded in 2011 as a constituent college of Moi University, in the facilit ...

students leaving 147 dead and many others injured. This incident was the country's worst terrorist attack since the

1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, ...

, which left over 200 people dead.

Location

The attack occurred at the 14 Riverside Drive complex in

Westlands, Nairobi Westlands is an affluent, mixed-use commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Location Westlands is located approximately , by road, northwest of the central business district of Nairobi. The geographical coordinates of the neighb ...

, Kenya. This is an upscale hotel and office complex which hosts the DusitD2 Hotel and the

Commission on Revenue Allocation The Commission on Revenue Allocation is a Kenya government Commission established under Article 215 and 216 of the Constitution of Kenya. Role Its key role is recommendation of the basis for equitable sharing of revenues raised nationally betw ...

. Other clients of the complex, amongst others, include:

Adam Smith International Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Book of Genesis, Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a coll ...

Amadeus IT Group Amadeus IT Group, S.A. () is a major Spanish IT provider for the global travel and tourism industry. Company profile The company is structured around two areas: its global distribution system and its Information Technology business. Amadeus prov ...

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...

, I & M bank,

JHPiego Jhpiego is a nonprofit organization for international health affiliated with Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Fou ...

, SAP East Africa and Cellulant Kenya Ltd.

Incident

The attack began at 14:30 on 15 January 2019, and was concluded a few minutes before 10:00 the following day. Initial reports were of gunfire and two explosions at the hotel. The five attackers, arrived in two vehicles. One of the attackers went discreetly and blew himself up next to Secret Garden restaurant. After the blast the remaining terrorists forced guards to open the gates of 14 Riverside Drive by shooting at them and lobbing grenades as they made their way into the complex, igniting some vehicles parked in the parking bay. The Recce company, the anti terrorism division of the Kenya police force,

General Service Unit The General Service Unit (GSU) is a paramilitary wing in the Kenya Police Service, consisting of highly trained police officers, transported by seven dedicated Cessnas and three Bell helicopters. Having been in existence since 1948, the GSU ha ...

, were sent in to combat the militants. Members of private security forces and unarmed individuals along with some off duty police officers were first to respond. A masked (wearing balaclava) member of the British

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

, Christian Craighead, who was in the country to conduct training, accompanied by a member of the Diplomatic Protective Services Tactical Response Unit (DPS-TRU) (Dan J. Prastalo) indicating "Agent" sign and a shield badge on his tactical vest, started clearing floor by floor of the office and car park buildings. They were heard shouting call sign "Eagle Eagle Security Forces" as they tried to call out hostages that were hiding. Both individuals were seen on the mainstream media clips escorting groups of hostages and carrying wounded ones, before running back into the complex while the attackers were shooting down on them. Australian High Commission security detail also exchanged fire with the terrorists as they made their way into the complex, injuring one attacker. While it had been thought that the attack had been neutralized after a few hours, gunfire and explosions were again heard early on 16 January. Christian Craighead shot and killed two of the attackers and was awarded the

Conspicuous Gallantry Cross The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in ...

for his extreme bravery.

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The President is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defe ...

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

initially said that 14 people had been killed; later on 16 January it was reported that 21 civilians and five attackers had been killed. A year after the attack, on 15 January 2020, hotel nurse Noel Kidaliza, who was critically injured during the attack, died of her wounds at a hospital, bringing the death toll to 22. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that was released during the attack. They claimed that the attack was "a response to US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel".

Aftermath

Nineteen Kenyan citizens, an American and a British-South African man died during the attack. A Kenyan woman died a year later after succumbing to her wounds, bringing the civilian death toll to 22. Immediately after the incident concluded, the 14 Riverside Drive complex and its immediate environs were closed to public as police termed the area an active scene of crime. Security agencies were able to trace the residence of the terror suspects to

Kiambu Kiambu is a town in Kiambu County, Kenya within the Nairobi Metropolitan Region. It is from the capital Nairobi. It has an population of 147,870. It is the capital of the Kiambu County, which bounds the northern border of Nairobi. Other proxi ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and

Nyeri Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county headquarters of Nyeri County. The town was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province. Following the dissolution of the former pr ...

counties. On 17 January, the

Kenya Red Cross Society The Kenya Red Cross is one of the many International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement societies around the world. The Kenya organisation was established in 1965, The Kenya Red Cross supports and runs a number of projects whilst raising awaren ...

informed the public that all who had earlier been listed as missing had been accounted for. The

National Police Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

was lauded for its well-organized response that saw close to 700 people being rescued from the hotel complex. On 19 January 2019, five people appeared in court accused of assisting in the terrorist attack. On the same day, the Australian embassy denied allegations that one of the fatalities was an Australian. Initially both Kenyan and Australian media houses had stated that one of the victims an Australian citizen and was visiting his girlfriend in Kenya before his death in the attack.

In popular culture

In the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), a playable skin is based on the British SAS Christian Craighead.

References