A gunfight was underway following a blast at a hotel and office complex in a leafy Nairobi neighbourhood Tuesday afternoon, an AFP reporter and a witness said.

"There was a bomb, there is a lot of gunfire," whispered a man working in the offices in the Dusit Hotel compound, asking not to be named.

The blast was heard from AFP's offices some five kilometres (three miles) away and a reporter sent to the scene said the gunmen and security forces were exchanging gunfire.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident was a robbery or an attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)