The gunmen, thought to be Somali militants, escaped with the hostages into the Somali desert. There have also been several kidnappings in the past year, and on Friday, gunmen seized four foreign aid workers at a refugee camp near Garissa after killing a Kenyan driver. Sunday’s simultaneous attacks on two churches seemed to mark a shift in tactics and ambition.
So far, though, recent episodes have been relatively small-scale attacks, like a grenade rolled into a nightclub or bus station, causing few casualties. Kenyan security forces are widely considered weak and corrupt, and the country has had a history of attacks, including the truck bombing of the American Embassy in downtown Nairobi in 1998 that well-planned operation, carried out by Al Qaeda, killed more than 200 people, most of them Kenyans. “We support those who recognize Kenya’s ethnic and religious diversity as one of the country’s greatest strengths.” “At a time of transition, peace and stability are essential to Kenya’s progress,” the statement said. The Obama administration condemned the attacks, saying in a statement on Sunday that those responsible “must be brought to justice for these heinous acts.” Kenyan police officials said the gunmen had hurled two grenades into the church and shot and killed two police officers who had been posted at the church’s door because of several recent attacks in Garissa.Īt any given moment, thousands of Americans are in Kenya - aid workers, diplomats, missionaries, students and safari tourists. Sunday, four gunmen attacked the African Inland Church in Garissa, an outpost town in the arid flatlands near the border with Somalia. The skyscrapers are still standing, but militants believed to be connected to the Shabab have carried out more than a dozen attacks in Kenya, scaring off tourists and putting a serious dent in this country’s economy and sense of security.Īt 10:30 a.m.
When Kenyan forces stormed into Somalia eight months ago, Somalia’s fiercest militant Islamist group, the Shabab, vowed to wreak vengeance, saying it would topple Nairobi’s skyscrapers and kill Kenyan civilians. NAIROBI, Kenya - Masked gunmen hurled grenades into two churches in eastern Kenya on Sunday and then sprayed gunfire at fleeing worshipers, killing at least 15 people in one of the worst terrorist attacks Kenya has suffered in years.
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