Image source, AFP

Social media users are commending the bravery of people who helped during the siege at the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi.

A number of hashtags have been created to highlight positive stories which arose from the tragedy, including #WeShallOvercome and #KenyaUnbowed.

The two phrases have been used more than 30,000 times on Twitter in the past 24 hours.

Among those being praised is Inayat Kassam, a survival trainer, who assisted in evacuating people from the scene.

In 2013, Mr Kassam co-ordinated a rescue mission during an attack at Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall.

Kenyan journalist and talk show host Jeff Koinange called Mr Kassam "a true hero" in a tweet which has been liked 11,000 times.

Read full story.

'I hid under my desk'

Hiram Macharia, a marketing executive at LG Electronics, told the Reuters news agency that after he heard the first explosion he tried to escape.

"I grabbed a fire extinguisher and we started going downstairs. Then we saw two of the attackers firing at the elevators and we turned back. We hid under desks in our office," he told Reuters.

"They were firing twice at each of the elevator doors and the two staircase doors on each floor as they walked up the building.One of them fired at our office doors, entered slightly and then moved on."

Mr Macharia hid in his office, but one colleague ran to the roof and was shot dead there, he added.

'We were texted before rescue'

Mamadou Dia was on a business trip from Paris for STP Consultants when he was caught up in the siege.

He told the Reuters agency that he was huddled in a room with Chinese and Canadian residents of the hotel and a waiter when he was texted to say that police knew where he was hiding.

"They told us by text that the police knew we were in that room and that they would come, and one-and-a-half hours later, the police came to evacuate us," he said.

He added that the attackers started shooting at them "like snipers," as armed officers escorted them out. The police fired back, he said.

Read more: 'How we survived Kenya hotel siege'

An British SAS soldier was among those who entered the hotel complex in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to help rescue trapped people during the attack at the DusitD2 hotel.

The soldier was in Kenya as part of a training team, the BBC's Andrew Harding in Nairobi reports.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has said his country remains a safe place for foreign visitors, and that those involved in planning this attack will be hunted down.

Two foreigners, a Briton and an American, have been identified among 14 victims killed in Tuesday's attack.

A British newspaper has shared images of the officer during the operation at the Dusit complex.

Kenyan-Somali MP Fatuma Gedi has announced the deaths of two Kenyans of Somali descent: Feysal Rashid Haji and Abdalla Sheikh Mohamed Dahir.

Mr Dahir worked as a communication specialist for Somalia Stability Fund and was having lunch with his friend Mr Haji when the al-Shabab militants opened fire.

Ms Gedi said in her Twitter post, "We will come out of this cowardly act stronger and more united as a nation."

Kenya's Somali community make up about 5% of the population. Some Somalis have Kenyan citizenship and the vast North Eastern province, which borders Somalia, has a predominantly ethnic Somali population.

Kenya also hosts about 257,000 refugees, many of whom fled decades of conflict and drought in Somalia.

In recent years, in the wake of al-Shabab attacks, some Kenyan-Somalis have faced prejudice.

One of the victims of Tuesday attack was James Oduor, commonly known as Cobra.

He was known for his love of football and well liked.

Mr Oduor was tweeting as the attack was going on. He was trying to understand what was happening from those outside the Dusit complex.

"What's happening at 14 Riverside fam? Any news from out there?" he asked in one message.

He worked for an electrical company in the building.

Here's a sample of some of the tributes:

Police in Kenya has asked a controversial politician to appear at a police station after he was pictured on Tuesday at the scene of the attack clad in a bullet-proof jacket and carrying an automatic weapon, Kenyan media report.

The picture of Steve Mbogo, who unsuccessfully ran for an seat in parliament in 2017, has been widely shared on Twitter with many questioning his presence at the scene and the gun in his possession.

Mr Mbogo told a local news site that as a licensed firearms holder he went to help respond to the attack at the Dusit complex.

"I was running my errands near the DusitD2 Hotel here in Nairobi, when I learnt that the facility was under a terror attack," Mr Mbogo told edaily news site., external

"Because I was in a position to help, given I have good knowledge on how to handle firearms and protect myself against such situations, I went in to help in the rescue operations.

"If you are asking in what capacity I was there, I would tell you: I was there as a civilian, who is mandated by law to handle firearms.”

The BBC Africa Business Editor has been speaking to our colleagues on BBC World TV.

He discusses the latest news from the attack and also talks about a local company which says it still cannot account for six of its employees.

Watch the interview below:

More survivors of the attack at a hotel in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, are giving their accounts of what happened.

A waiter at the DusitD2 Hotel, who asked to called Charles, told the BBC's OS programme on the World Service:

He, another colleague and a customer from the hotel escaped together on Tuesday.

He added that the Kenyan security services were already at the scene when he escaped "and they helped us to manage to walk out".

The mother of an American killed in the Dusit attack in Nairobi, has spoken about her grief.

In an interview with US broadcaster NBC, Sarah Spindler said her son, Jason Spindler, was trying to "make a positive change in the third world in emerging markets".

Mr Spindler, whose mother described him as "bright young person", was a recipient of grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation.

Friends and family have been tweeting about their loss. A friend wrote of him on Twitter:

A BBC reporter has snapped this photo of a woman offering tea to a member of the security team.

The area surrounding the Nairobi hotel, where Tuesday's attack took place, has been cordoned off by the police.

A barista who was rescued after several hours trapped inside the hotel, said he recognised one of the attackers as a client, AFP new agency reports.

"I knew one of them because he had a big scar on one of his hands," he said. "I saw them. They shot six of my friends, four didn't die but two succumbed."

Pictures from our reporter outside a mortuary in the capital, Nairobi, show relatives and friends waiting to identify the bodies their loved ones.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said 14 people had been killed in Tuesday's attack.

The Kenya Red Cross has put the number at 24.

Kenya's main newspapers have chosen different angles to cover the terror attack at the hotel in the capital, Nairobi. The headline on People's Daily, "Kenya unbowed", seems to have struck a chord as it's been adopted by Twitter users, making it the top trending topic.

Here are the other newspaper headlines:

Image source, Daily Nation

Image source, Business Daily

Image source, The Star

Image source, The Standard

At least one British citizen has been killed in the attack at the Dusit complex in Nairobi, the UK ambassador to Kenya has said in a video message.

Nic Hailey also advised citizens to check the UK's travel advisory.

A woman who survived Tuesday's attack at the Dusit hotel and office complex in Westlands in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has told a local news site that she also survived another attack at the Westgate mall in 2013.

At least 67 people were killed in the attack six years ago when militants entered the upscale shopping market.

“I was working there when the attackers stormed in, it was not easy just like today. All I can say is that I thank God,” Tracy Wanjiru told Nairobi News about Tuesday's attack, external.

Ms Wanjiru, who manages a salon in the complex, said she heard a loud explosion and tried to look out to see what was going on.

"I jumped back to the salon, told my colleagues to be keen because we were under attack. They dismissed me at first but when they heard wails and screams, everyone went into hiding,” she said.

Ms Wanjiru posted on Facebook about what was happening and calling for help.

She was later rescued.

An elderly Somali-Kenyan man has told local Citizen TV that he feels "doubly terrorised" after losing two sons in the attack and having to deal with people treating him as an accomplice of the attack because of his identity.

He said his three sons were in the Dusit complex but one managed to get out safely.

"There are people who look at me and think I am a terrorist. I am a victim of terrorism... a terrorist does not have a race or an ethnic identity...they don’t attack selectively."

Watch the full interview here in which he speaks both in Kiswahili and English.

People have gathered at Chiromo morgue to identify those killed in the attack on DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi.

Image source, EPA

The Kenyan Red Cross has been advising and supporting relatives looking for news of others caught up in the siege.

A Kenyan man who sent desperate messages on Twitter while trapped in the Dusit complex as the attack was ongoing has been freed.

Ronald Ng’eno tweeted that he could hear gunshots and pleaded for help.

He also said that he feared for his life.

He later tweeted that he had been rescued by the security officers.

A local news site has shared a picture of Mr Ng'eno with his family.

According to The Kenya Red Cross, the death toll for the attack on the Dusit hotel is at least 24.

Kenya's President Uhury Kenyatta said earlier that 14 had died.

Local media have reported four armed men, believed to be the al-Shabab militants, entered Nairobi's DusitD2 hotel complex on Tuesday afternoon.

Leaked footage from security cameras show the men carrying rifles enter a car pack area.