At least 10 people were today afternoon killed and more than 80 others injured when two blasts went off in the crowd Gikomba Market in down town Nairobi.
Suspected terorists lobbed two bombs made from improvised devices, almost simulteneously, one into a public service vehicle locally known as "matatu" and another at a group of second hand dealers.
At lease two suspects were arrested at the scene, one by members of the public who spotted him fleeing and another, by the police as he hid into a garage nearby. Among those reported dead was pregnant woman who was at the market and at least four passengers in the public service vehicle.
Some of the victims died at the various hosptials where they were rushed by the Kenya Red Cross Society among other rescue agencies.The blasts caused panic in Nairobi leading to heavy traffic jams which the police cleared after a while.
The terror attack in Nairobi, which took place around 2.30 pm, local time came shortly after more than 900 foreign tourists from Europe and America began leaving Kenya's tourist resourt city of Mombasa following travel advisories issues by the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, among other Western countries.
The Kenya government had earlier issued a statement dismissing the the issuance of the travel advisories as ill advised, saying there was no danger from terrorists.
Players in the tourism industry who said they had incurred losses from canclled bookings amounting to millions of dollars and would lay off workers, urged the government to step up security.
Kenya has been hit by a spate of terror attacks since last year, the most devastating being the attack on the upmarket Westgate Shopping Mall in Weestland which left 67 people dead and more than 200 others injured.
The terror attacks have been witnessed more in Nairobi and Mombasa, which has seen the government laubching a security operation which has targeed Eastliegh Area of Nirobi occupied by members of the Somali community.
The area is believed to harbour terror cells and sympathisers of the Somalia based terror group, Al-Shabaab. The group has in the past vowed to hit the country following the decison, three years ago, to send a contingent of the Kenya Defense Forces into Somalia to pursue the militantt grup and help stabilize Somalia.
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| Scene of the terror attack: Some of the passengers died |
At lease two suspects were arrested at the scene, one by members of the public who spotted him fleeing and another, by the police as he hid into a garage nearby. Among those reported dead was pregnant woman who was at the market and at least four passengers in the public service vehicle.
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| Traders selling clothes fell victims |
Some of the victims died at the various hosptials where they were rushed by the Kenya Red Cross Society among other rescue agencies.The blasts caused panic in Nairobi leading to heavy traffic jams which the police cleared after a while.
The terror attack in Nairobi, which took place around 2.30 pm, local time came shortly after more than 900 foreign tourists from Europe and America began leaving Kenya's tourist resourt city of Mombasa following travel advisories issues by the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, among other Western countries.
The Kenya government had earlier issued a statement dismissing the the issuance of the travel advisories as ill advised, saying there was no danger from terrorists.
Players in the tourism industry who said they had incurred losses from canclled bookings amounting to millions of dollars and would lay off workers, urged the government to step up security.
Kenya has been hit by a spate of terror attacks since last year, the most devastating being the attack on the upmarket Westgate Shopping Mall in Weestland which left 67 people dead and more than 200 others injured.
The terror attacks have been witnessed more in Nairobi and Mombasa, which has seen the government laubching a security operation which has targeed Eastliegh Area of Nirobi occupied by members of the Somali community.
The area is believed to harbour terror cells and sympathisers of the Somalia based terror group, Al-Shabaab. The group has in the past vowed to hit the country following the decison, three years ago, to send a contingent of the Kenya Defense Forces into Somalia to pursue the militantt grup and help stabilize Somalia.
