Al-Shabaab militants claim responsibility after blast and gunfire at Nairobi hotel

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an upscale hotel complex in Kenya's capital on Tuesday.

The complex was rocked by a blast and heavy gunfire broke out, according to witnesses.

"We are currently conducting an operation in Nairobi," a spokesman for the jihadist group told an al-Jazeera correspondent.

The complex targeted includes a large hotel known as DusitD2, banks and offices. Witnesses say several vehicles are burning and people are being rushed and carried from the scene.

"We have sent officers to the scene, including from the anti-terrorism unit, but so far we have no more information," police spokesman Charles Owino told The Associated Press.

The scenes in the Westlands suburb reminded Nairobians of a bloody terrorist attack in 2013 when Islamist gunmen stormed the Westgate mall, killing at least 67 people.

Kenya faced a spate of attacks after it sent its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight al-Shabaab, which is considered the deadliest extremist group in sub-saharan Africa.

On April 2, 2015, another al-Shabaab attack killed 148 people at the university in Garissa, eastern Kenya.