After Westgate debacle, quick end to latest Kenyan attack shows progress

Serge Medic, the Swiss owner of a security company carries his pistol as he walks at the scene where explosions and gunshots were heard at the Dusit hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya January 15, 2019. Picture taken January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The relatively swift end to an attack on a Nairobi hotel and office complex highlights improvements in Kenya's counterterrorism capabilities since Somali militants overran a shopping mall in the same neighbourhood five years ago.

This time, the authorities flooded the area with elite units, including the paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) and its crack Recce squad, along with a new force trained by the United States to respond to emergencies at American facilities.