Gunmen have stormed a Tripoli hotel popular with diplomats and officials, killing nine people, in an attack claimed by the militant Islamic State group. 

The dead included three security guards killed in the initial attack, five foreigners shot dead by the gunmen and a hostage who died when the attackers blew themselves up.

An American, a French citizen, a South Korean and two Filipinas were the five foreigners were among the dead, a security official said.

After setting off a car bomb outside the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Libya’s capital, three militants rushed inside and opened fire on Tuesday, Issam al-Naass, a security services spokesman, told AFP.

They made it to the 24th floor of the hotel, a major hub of diplomatic and government activity, before being surrounded by security forces and detonating explosive belts they were wearing, he said.

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At least five people were also wounded during the assault, including two Filipina employees hurt by broken glass from the car bomb, he said.

The nationalities of the foreigners killed and the hostage were not immediately known, but Naass said two of the foreigners were women.

Washington said it was “aware of reports of a US citizen being killed” in Tuesday’s attack, but had been unable to confirm that.

“This attack cannot be allowed to impede the critical work that is underway to find a political solution” in Libya, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The hotel’s 24th floor is normally used by Qatar’s mission to Libya, but no diplomats or officials were present during the assault, a security source said.

The head of Libya’s self-declared government, Omar al-Hassi, was inside the hotel at the time of the attack but was evacuated safely, Naass said.

In a statement on Twitter, the Tripoli branch of the Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

It said the attack was in honour of Abu Anas al-Libi, an al-Qaeda suspect who died in the United States earlier this month, days before facing a trial for bombing US embassies.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini condemned the attack, calling it “another reprehensible act of terrorism which deals a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya.”

A new round of UN-mediated peace talks between Libya’s rival factions kicked off in Geneva 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 Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 uprising, with rival governments and powerful militias now battling for control of key cities and the country’s oil riches.

The North African nation has been wracked by conflict since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi 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.