A fatal Tuesday morning attack at a luxury hotel in Tripoli, Libya that left nine people and two gunmen dead might have come with a warning. According to local media in Libya, the attack was preceded by a threat called into hotel staff the night before.
Libyan-based Al Wasat newspaper reported on Tuesday that management of the Corinthia Hotel, where the attack occurred, said that hotel reception got an anonymous threat about a bombing the night before. The Malta-owned hotel has locations worldwide, including Lisbon, Prague, St. Petersburg, Malta, and elsewhere.
Four foreign nationals and five local guards were killed in the attack, which was followed by an hours-long standoff and the death of both gunmen when they set off a grenade, according to officials. Ten others were wounded in the attack.
Al Wasat and other local media have reported that some of the foreign victims were from the Far East, possibly the Philippines. At least one victim is believed to be American, though that has yet to be confirmed by the U.S. government.
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The hotel, situated near the Mediterranean Sea, also suffered a multiple car-bombing of five vehicles in the attack. Amateur video of the aftermath of the car bombings showed the smoldering hulks of vehicles parked outside the front entrance of the hotel and plumes of black smoke that could be seen from at least a mile away.
Libya has been racked by violence and kidnappings since former dictator Moammar Gadhafi was ousted and killed in 2011. Brutal competition between different militias and tribes for power has contributed to the existence of two rival governments and parliaments and divided the country in half between the east and west. The rival governments are backed by different militias.
Hotel staff who spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity confirmed that they saw at least two gunmen enter the hotel and start shooting. Staffers also said that they heard the gunmen, whose identify has not been released, speaking with Libyan accents. Video surveillance captured from the hotel and circulated on regional media show the men in the hotel, one with a gun.
It’s not the first time that the hotel has come under attack. In 2013, a former prime minister was abducted there. It is the location of meetings for the United Nations support mission in Libya, which is in the midst of talks with rival Libyan groups in Geneva.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
