Blast, gunfire heard at scene of Nairobi attack

Gunfire and an explosion could be heard early on Wednesday morning close to the scene of an attack a day earlier on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi.

Tuesday's attack in the Kenyan capital's Westlands district was claimed by the Somalia-based al-Shabab militant group.

Early on Wednesday Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had announced that the DusitD2 hotel complex had been cleared of all suspected attackers following an operation by security forces.

"All the terrorists have been eliminated," Kenyatta said in announcing an end to the special forces operation.

Authorities have yet to announce the total number of suspects killed, however reports have emerged that at least four were gunned down in the operation.

A Kenyan police officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that 15 bodies had been taken to the morgue. The officer did not specify if the bodies were those of victims or attackers, however, earlier reports have stated that at least 14 people were killed by the extremist attack.

Tuesday's violence came three years to the day after Al-Shabab extremists attacked a Kenyan military base in Somalia, killing scores of people.

The Al-Qaeda-linked group were also behind a 2013 attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people.

Like the attack at the Westgate Mall, Tuesday's attack appeared to be aimed at wealthy Kenyans and foreigners. It came a day after a magistrate ruled that three men must stand trial in connection with the Westgate Mall siege.