Experts say that Africa growing ripe for terror

Africa has suffered only 6 percent of the world’s terrorist attacks in the past decade but its mix of unstable governments, Middle East proximity, persistent poverty, radical groups and Western tourists suggest it is likely to become a growing terrorist target and base, African analysts warned Thursday. “Africa has very favorable conditions for terrorism to develop and spread,” said Anneli Botha, a senior researcher at the South African Institute for Security Studies, which launched a two-day meeting on terrorism in Africa on Thursday in Pretoria. While the continent has had few terrorist attacks in the past decade, it has suffered a disproportionate number of casualties, in part because of several high-profile attacks. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists in 1998 blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people. Last November, terrorists also believed to be tied to Al Qaeda fired a missile at a commercial airliner and simultaneously blew up a beachfront hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killing 10 workers and three Israeli tourists. Full Story