33 Injured in Kenya Blast

Al-Shabab has threatened such an attack in the past
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 28, 2012 1:45 PM CDT
33 Injured in Kenya Blast
Injured women sit in the ambulance to be rushed to hospital after an explosion on a busy road in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, May 28, 2012.   (Sayyid Azim)

An explosion ripped through a building full of small shops in downtown Nairobi today, injuring at least 33 people, including a woman who blamed the blast on a "bearded man" who left behind a bag shortly before the detonation. Police officials first indicated the explosion could have been caused by some sort of electrical malfunction but the prime minister said it was deliberate. Al-Shabab—an Islamist militant group from Somalia—has threatened to carry out such an attack.

Al-Shabab's threat to carry out large-scale attacks here followed Kenya's decision last October to send troops into Somalia to pursue the Islamist militants. Kenya said back then that it was sending in the troops as a response to kidnappings on Kenyan soil last year blamed on al-Shabab. The kidnappings caused tourism in Kenya to plummet, especially around the coastal resort of Lamu. Since October, a series of grenade attacks has rocked Kenya. (More Kenya stories.)

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