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Gunmen have attacked a hotel popular with foreigners in Libya’s capital, killing three guards, five guests and injuring 12 other people, officials say.
On Tuesday, several gunmen stormed the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli and opened fire in the reception area. A car bomb also exploded outside the hotel.
Three gunmen are still holed up in the hotel, Essam al-Naas, the spokesman for the joint security operations room for Tripoli said.
A Twitter account linked to Islamic State said the group had attacked the hotel. The claim could not be verified.
A hotel staffer said five masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security at the gates tried to stop them. He added that the gunmen 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.
Tripoli has been hit with a series of car bombs and shootings in the turmoil that has engulfed the country following its 2011 civil war, which ousted long-time Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi.