Terrorists who raided the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli reportedly killing eight people were yesterday gunned down by Libyan forces after a five-hour stand-off.

The raid on the prominent hotel in the Libyan capital took place just after 9am when the terrorists set off a car bomb at a checkpoint just outside the building.

Three security guards were killed in the firefight that ensued as the terrorists moved into the lobby.

Conflicting reports from Libya put the number of terrorists between two and five and the number of dead as high as eight, including five foreigners.

The Associated Press quoted a Libyan security official saying the gunmen took hostages.

A Corinthia spokesman said the exact unfolding of the events had yet to be fully established. “Our priority at all times was to ensure the security of our colleagues and guests,” he said, adding that “loss of life is tragic and we grieve for those who were senselessly killed”.

Eight Maltese workers, he added, were taken to “a safe location” just after the attack started.

Two terrorists were holed up on the 20th floor of the hotel and occasional gunfire could be heard as the complex was surrounded by security forces loyal to the self-declared Tripoli-based government.

Affiliates of Islamic State (IS, also known as Isis) were said to have claimed responsibility in a tweet, occupying the hotel to kill diplomats. However, the IS claim was disputed by Libyan observers, who pointed out the intended target may have been the Islamist-leaning self-declared Prime Minister Omar Hasi. Mr Hasi and his government are not recognised by the international community. Reports from Libya claimed he was in the hotel a short time before the attack but the Corinthia spokesman insisted this was incorrect and no senior diplomats were known to have been staying at the hotel.

I suddenly heard shooting and saw people running towards me and we all escaped through the garage underground. The hotel did a lockdown after that

A civilian who witnessed the attack told the BBC: “I suddenly heard shooting and saw people running towards me and we all escaped from the back [of the hotel] through the garage underground. The hotel did a lockdown after that.”

Other Tripoli hotels were evacuated as a precaution.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, in a tweet from Brussels, said he would report about the attack in Parliament today.

He said Opposition leader Simon Busuttil – who also expressed solidarity with the victims – had been briefed about the intelligence available to the government.

Dr Muscat said the Security Service was gathering all intelligence about the attack and urged caution before drawing conclusions.

“It is not known who the terrorists represented and who their message was addressed to. One should not rush into any conclusions,” he stressed.

Sources told Times of Malta that intelligence reports indicated the terrorist action was not intended against Malta or the Corinthia Group.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, condemned the attack, describing it as another reprehensible act of terrorism which dealt a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya.

“The EU expresses solidarity with the victims and their families. The EU strongly supports the efforts of the ongoing UN-led talks to bring about a political solution based on respect and dialogue,” she said.

The Nationalist Party said the attack was of huge concern and exposed the fragility of the situation in Libya. “Malta must stand firm in the face of these cowardly attacks.

“The Opposition is ready to back the government to support action by the EU and the international community to fight terrorism and dismantle terrorist networks,” the party said.

The Opposition is ready to back the government to support action by the EU

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who was in Auschwitz marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the infamous Nazi concentration camp, condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with the victims.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated its advice for people to avoid travelling to Libya.

Libya is split down the middle with two rival governments and parliaments controlling the west and east of the country.

The internationally-recognised government is based in Tobruk.

The country has not recovered since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 after former rebels turned on each other.

Two broad alliances have been formed since then with the Islamist-leaning groups controlling Tripoli and Misurata while the more secular groups holding sway in Tobruk and parts of Benghazi.

Who did it?

The division in Libya has made it difficult to pin down the perpetrators to a particular group as rival factions have blamed each other.

The tweet purportedly from IS (also known as Isis) called the attack The Raid of Abu Anas al-Libi.

Al-Libi was the suspected al-Qaeda figure alleged to have helped plan the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. He died in a New York hospital this month ahead of his scheduled trial.

But while IS claimed responsibility, the media office of Libya Dawn, the self-declared Tripoli government, accused loyalists to Operation Dignity of being behind the attack.

Operation Dignity is an anti-Islamist military offensive that started in May last year led by General Khalifa Haftar. He is allied to the internationally-recognised Tobruk government.

Observers have cast doubt on the IS claim, insisting it made little sense in a city controlled by a pro-Islamist government. They noted that the genesis of the attack points towards a more targeted approach to capture or kill someone who may have been in the hotel.

If the target had been the Corinthia it could have easily been hit by rocket fire, the observers said.

However, it must be noted that IS does have a foothold in Libya after an extremist group that took control of the eastern city of Derna pledged allegiance to the brutal organisation that controls large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.