Nine killed in Libyan hotel raid

Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, killing four foreigners and five guards, and triggering an hours-long stand-off that ended when two assailants set off a grenade that killed them, officials said.

The attack on the Corinthia Hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea, underscores the lawlessness that the North African country descended into following the 2011 ouster and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The US State Department said it was looking into reports of an American casualty in the attack.

The attack started in the morning hours and included a car bombing, said Essam al-Naas, a spokesman for a Tripoli security agency.

Libya’s security forces responded and after several hours of a stand-off, the attackers threw a grenade at the security forces, killing themselves and a security guard.

Ten people were also wounded in the attack, including security guards and guests.

“The operation is over,” Mr al-Naas said, but added that the streets around Corinthia remained closed. He said an investigation was under way.

Earlier in the day, Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the Special Deterrent Force, told private satellite television station al-Nabaa that five foreigners were killed, without elaborating, but Mr al-Naas later revised the casualty toll.

It was not clear if the two assailants were the only ones involved in the attack.

As the standoff developed, a security official said the gunmen had taken hostages, though he had no further details.

Two commercial landmark towers behind the hotel were evacuated out of security concerns, he said.

Since Gaddafi’s ousting, Libya has been torn among competing militias and tribes vying for power.

The post-Gaddafi transition has collapsed, with two rival governments and parliaments – each backed by different militias – effectively ruling in the country’s eastern and western regions.

The militia-backed government in Tripoli said the target of the attack was Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi. Spokesman Amr Baiou told reporters Mr al-Hassi was unharmed.