Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab said on Wednesday that it conducted a deadly attack on an upscale Dusit D2 hotel and business complex the day before in Nairobi, Kenya, “in response” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition in December 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“The Mujahideen (holy warriors) carried out this operation … (as) a response to the witless remarks of U.S. president, Donald Trump, and his declaration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel,” said the two-page statement.
At least 21 people were killed in the attack, including American Jewish consultant Jason Spindler, who was at a business meeting in the offices of I-Dev International, his investment consulting firm, when he was fatally shot.
The complex, in Nairobi’s Westlands neighborhood that is popular with foreign visitors and workers, includes banks, offices, restaurants and bars.
Al-Shabab, reportedly linked to Al-Qaeda, is a U.S.-designated terrorist group. It is also responsible for carrying out the 2013 attack at the nearby Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people.
