ISIS Terrorist Kill 8 People in Attack on Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, Libya

ISIS terrorists storm the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, Libya kill eight and have taken hostages. According to Fox News, a hotel worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said five masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after getting past security at the gates, firing in the air before shooting randomly at staffers.

NBC News … VIDEO

At least eight people, including five foreigners, were killed on Tuesday when gunmen from the Islamic State stormed a hotel used by Westerners in Libya.

The five foreigners, who included two women, died during an attack on the five-star Corinthia Hotel in the capital, Tripoli. Also killed was a Libyan security officer and two of the gunmen, who blew themselves up after being surrounded on an upper floor,

Details of the casualties were given by Mahmoud Hamza, a senior Libyan security official, in an interview with al-Naba television. He did not give the nationalities of the foreigners, although it is understood that British citizens were residen in the hotel at the time of the attack.

The men, who were wearing masks and bulletproof vests, then began firing randomly at staff in the lobby. It is understood that a number of hostages have been taken, but the nationalities were unclear.

Security forces then surrounded the building, while residents fled out of emergency exits.

“After being pursued and surrounded on the hotel’s 21st floor, the attackers detonated explosive belts they were wearing,” Issam al-Naass, a spokesman for security services, told AFP.

UPDATE I: Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, Stormed by Terrorists.

“It is more than likely that there are hostages held by the gunmen on the 23rd floor,” Essam Naas, a spokesman for Tripoli security forces, told Reuters. “The security forces are evacuating the guests floor by floor. There was shooting between the gunmen and the security forces.”

However, Mahmoud Hamza, commander of Libya’s Special Deterrent Force, told private satellite television station al-Nabaa that the situation was “under control,” though he couldn’t confirm the whereabouts of the gunmen.