The looming Gulf War has raised fresh fears of terrorist attacks in Kenya, already twice a victim of anti-U.S. bombings which have killed more than 200 people. The U.S. government says it has received indications of terrorist threats in the region aimed at American and Western interests and has warned all of its citizens considering travelling to Kenya to “re-evaluate their travel plans”. “Supporters of al Qaeda and other extremists are still active in East Africa,” it said. The British government has issued similar warnings to its citizens. They are not alone. Fears of a possible terrorist attack led the New Zealand cricket team to pull out of a scheduled World Cup match in Nairobi in January. Suspicions are focused on the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, the scene of two simultaneous terrorist attacks last November. Fifteen people were killed when a car bomb was driven into the reception of an Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, to the north of Mombasa. On the same day, shoulder-fired missiles were aimed at an Israeli charter plane flying out of Mombasa airport, narrowly missing their target. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations and Israel’s Mossad secret police suspect that ships flying flags of convenience (FOC) are being used by Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda activists to smuggle explosives, chemical or biological weapons, or even radioactive “dirty” bombs into the port of Mombasa, according to a report in the Nairobi-based East African newspaper. Full Story
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