The US State Department has confirmed that one of the 15 killed in an al-Shabaab attack on an upscale hotel complex in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Tuesday was a US citizen.

"We can confirm that a US citizen was killed in the attack," an official at the State Department told Reuters, declining to give the citizen's name.

Angry protesters gather near the scene of Saturday's massive truck bomb attack, near the presidential palace, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. ©
AP Photo / Farah Abdi Warsameh Mogadishu Bombing: Al-Shabaab Is a 'Shadow Government' in Somalia

The DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi was beset by explosions and gunfire Tuesday as suicide bombers and gunmen associated with the Somali militant group al-Shabaab set off bombs in the parking lot and lobby of the upscale resort.
Al-Shabaab, which has connections to al-Qaeda, has been designated a terrorist group by nine western states, including the US. The group is also known in Nairobi for the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in 2013 that resulted in the deaths of 71 people and wounding of 175.Source: sputniknews.com