A South African with dual British nationality, Luke Potter, has been confirmed as one of the victims of the Al Shabaab attack on the DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi.
The death toll has risen to 21 with 19 people remaining unaccounted for, the BBC reported on Thursday.
Four gunmen from the militant organisation attacked the hotel in Nairobi’s upscale Westlands vicinity on Tuesday afternoon using a combination of explosives and gunfire.
Several of the gunmen were subsequently shot dead by Kenyan security forces, one of the attackers died in the hotel lobby after he detonated explosives on his body. Another two suspects have been arrested.
The Gatsby Charitable Foundation paid tribute to Johannesburg born- and-bred Potter, aged 40, who worked for the organisation for 10-years, three of them in East Africa.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), confirmed Potter’s dual nationality and said he had entered Kenya on his British passport.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan authorities said the death toll had risen to 21 people with 19 still missing. Another 28 have been admitted to hospital.
Two suspects were taken into custody Wednesday morning after houses suspected of serving as hideouts for the attackers were raided by police.
Claiming responsibility for the attack Al Shabaab said it had launched the attack because of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The attack came one day after the trial of Al Shabaab members responsible for the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall, which killed 69 people and injured 175, opened in Nairobi.
- African News Agency (ANA)
