Kenya yesterday blamed Somali al-Shabaab rebels for a grenade attack that killed at least six people and wounded scores at a bus station near the heart of the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday.
Internal security minister George Saitoti said four grenades were hurled into the Machakos station at 7.30pm on Saturday from a passing vehicle, killing one person, while five more died later. “Of course, the initial suspicion is that of al-Shabaab,” he said. “It will be recalled that there have been similar incidents previously, and the government has been able to successfully apprehend those responsible.”
Al-Shabaab, which has formally merged with al-Qaeda, said it was at war with Kenya, but did not take responsibility for the blasts. “There is no peace between al-Shabaab and Kenya. It is incumbent on Kenya officials to answer who was behind the bus station blast in Nairobi last night,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for al-Shabaab’s military operation, said. Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October to crush the Islamist rebels after a series of cross-border raids and kidnappings on Kenyan soil. Kenya blamed al-Shabaab for the seizures, but it has denied responsibility. – (Reuters)