Libyan ISIS Group Claims Credit for Tripoli Hotel Attack

Ten Killed, Including Several Foreign Visitors

The Libyan faction which last year declared allegiance to ISIS has claimed credit for a high-profile attack on The Corinthia, a major Tripoli hotel popular with Westerners.

The gunmen stormed the luxury hotel on Tuesday morning, killing 10 people, including an American and a French citizen, and three other foreigners from as-yet-unidentified Asian nations.

The attack ended with an hour-long standoff with the guards in the city, in which two attackers were killed. It is unclear how many others managed to escape.

Exactly who was behind the attack and why remains a matter of considerable speculation, as Tripoli and much of Libya is under constant dispute between myriad different militant factions and self-proclaimed governments.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.