Gunmen storm Tripoli luxury hotel, at least three dead

Tripoli (AFP) - Gunmen stormed a hotel popular with foreigners in Libya's capital on Tuesday, setting off a car bomb and killing at least three guards in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Security forces surrounded the Corinthia Hotel in central Tripoli and gunfire was heard from nearby, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

A security guard was killed when the car bomb was set off outside the hotel and two others were shot dead during the assault, Issam al-Naass, a spokesman for security services, told AFP.

The five wounded included two Filipina employees of the hotel who were caught up in the car bomb blast, he said. Several ambulances were gathered near the hotel.

Another security source said four gunmen had been involved in the assault, but this could not be confirmed.

In a brief statement on Twitter, the Tripoli branch of the Islamic State jihadist group claimed to have stormed the hotel, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group said.

It was not immediately clear whether any guests remained inside the hotel, which is a major hub for diplomatic and government activity in Tripoli.

"It's an evolving situation, what we're hearing is what is being reported on the news," a spokesman for the Malta-based Corinthia Hotel chain, Matthew Dixon, told AFP by telephone.

"Our thoughts are with our staff and guests," he said. "We have no further information."

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini expressed concern, calling the attack "another reprehensible act of terrorism which deals a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya."

She expressed "solidarity with the victims and their families" but provided no details of casualties.

"Such attacks should not be allowed to undermine the political process," Mogherini said in a statement.

A new round of UN-mediated peace talks between Libya's rival factions kicked off in Geneva on Monday as they seek to implement a roadmap on forming a unity government.

The North African nation has been wracked by conflict since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 uprising, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the country's oil riches.

The Islamist-backed Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militia alliance took control of Tripoli last summer, forcing the country's internationally recognised government to flee to the far east.

The luxurious Corinthia was long considered a haven in a city beset by unrest, with officials, diplomats and foreign businessmen crossing paths in its lavish reception area.

In October 2013, then prime minister Ali Zeidan was seized by gunmen from the hotel, where he was residing. He was released after several hours.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and then French president Nicolas Sarkozy held talks with top officials at the hotel in September 2011, when they where the first foreign leaders to visit Libya after Kadhafi's ouster.