Gunmen attack the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, Libya!

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Libya’s militia-backed Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi usually resides at the hotel, but was not there when the attack took place.

Was he the target?

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The Straits Times @STcom ·

American, French, South Korean, 2 Filipinas died in Libya attack http://str.sg/4dJ

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At least 8 people, including 5 foreigners, killed in alleged ISIS attack on Libya hotel

Published on Jan 27, 2015 9:47 PM

The Straits Times @STcom ·

#ISIS in #Libya claims assault on Tripoli hotel: SITE http://bit.ly/1zoBkFV

Libyan security forces and emergency services near the Corinthia Hotel (right) in Tripoli on Jan 27, 2015, after Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters said they staged an attack on it. — PHOTO: AFP

Mahmoud Hamza, director of Libya’s special deterrence force, told al-Naba television that five foreigners, including two women, as well as a security officer and two of the gunmen, died in the attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli. He did not give the nationalities of the foreigners.

Fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group in Libya have claimed responsibility for the attack, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group said on Tuesday.

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/more-world-stories/story/isis-libya-claims-assault-tripoli-hotel-site-20150127

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Gunmen at Libyan Luxury Hotel Take Hostages; 3 Guards Dead

TRIPOLI, Libya — Jan 27, 2015, 5:47 AM ET

By ESAM MOHAMED Associated Press

‏@dovenews

Tripoli: Gunmen at Corinthia hotel take hostages; 3 guards killed, car bomb exploded. Libya http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/car-bomb-explodes-luxury-hotel-libyas-tripoli-28507472 …

Gunmen stormed a luxury Libyan hotel popular with foreigners Tuesday, killing at least three guards and taking hostages, a security official said.

Essam Al-Naas, a spokesman for a Tripoli security agency, said a standoff continued Tuesday afternoon at the Corinthia Hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea.

A hotel staffer said five masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security at the gates tried to stop them. He said they entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby.

The staffer said the gunmen fired in his direction when he opened his door to look out. He said he joined the rest of the staff and foreign guests fleeing out the hotel’s back doors into the parking lot.

When they got there, he said a car bomb exploded in the parking lot, only a hundred meters (yards) away. He said this came after a protection force entered the lobby and opened fire on the attackers. He said two guards were immediately killed. The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution.

He said the hotel had Italian, British and Turkish guests, but the hotel was largely empty at the time of the attack. He was not aware of a hostage taking situation. He said the militia-backed Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi usually resides at the hotel, but was not there Tuesday. The hotel previously came under attack in 2013 when a former prime minister was abducted there.