Recently in Kenya Category

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Dozens wounded in bomb attacks in Kenya," from eNCA.com, June 10 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

NAIROBI - At least 10 people were wounded in two separate attacks in Kenya, police said Sunday, including a blast at a church in Mombasa and a grenade hurled in a crowd in Nairobi.

In the port city of Mombasa, attackers on a motorbike threw a homemade bomb into a church service, wounding seven, while in Nairobi, a grenade was thrown in the largely ethnic Somali district of Eastleigh, police said.

The attacks are the latest in a string of grenade blasts or shootings to have hit Kenya, although it was not immediately clear if the two attacks were connected.

In Mombasa, coastal police chief Aggrey Adoli said that police were searching for the attackers.

"The attack occurred at a crusade [church service]," Adoli said. "Those injured have been taken to hospital."

The blast was believed to be caused by an improvised petrol bomb.

In Nairobi, the capital's police chief Benson Kibue said "a grenade was thrown at a crowd within the Majengo area of Eastleigh, and three people have been injured."

Kenyan police have previously blamed similar grenade attacks on supporters or members of Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.

Kenyan troops invaded southern Somalia in 2011 to attack Shebab bases, and have now joined an African Union force to battle the extremists there.

Kenya's invasion however sparked an angry reaction and warnings of revenge from the Islamists....

What a surprise.

Where he was able to roam free on the streets with a meat cleaver. "British soldier murder suspect had been held in Kenya," from AFP, May 26 (thanks to Block Ness):

One of the main suspects in the brutal murder of a soldier in London was arrested in Kenya more than two years ago for seeking terror training, it emerged on Sunday, after police made more arrests.

Anti-terror investigators in France meanwhile were probing the stabbing of a soldier in Paris as he patrolled a busy shopping centre and transport hub on Saturday afternoon.

President Francois Hollande said no link to the grisly murder in London had been established "at this stage", but the French interior minister said there were similarities.

In Britain, Michael Adebolajo was pictured on the front page of several newspapers in the dock of a Kenyan court after he was arrested in 2010.

He was detained on the island of Pate, a few kilometres away from Lamu, which is a crossing point to Somalia, according to the Sunday Telegraph and Independent on Sunday.

A framed photograph of murdered British soldier Lee Rigby lies amongst floral tributes outside Woolwich Barracks in London on May 23, 2013. Three men were being held in custody Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder the British soldier hacked to death in a London street in an Islamist attack.

The reports said Adebolajo, 28, had been accused of trying to lead a group of youths trying to join Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab movement.

He was released and deported to Britain after appearing in court in Mombasa with six other men in November 2010.

The disclosure raises fresh questions about the monitoring of Adebolajo and the other suspect in the murder, 22-year-old Michael Adebowale, by Britain's intelligence services.

Adebolajo was captured on video carrying bloodied knives and a meat cleaver after Wednesday's attack saying he had killed off-duty soldier Lee Rigby because British troops were killing Muslims.

He and Adebowale remain under armed guard in a stable condition in separate hospitals after they were shot by police at the scene. They are not yet strong enough to be questioned by detectives.

It also emerged that Adebowale was arrested in London two months ago after local traders complained about a group of Muslim activists.

A soldier drives a truck out of Woolwich Barracks in London on May 23, 2013. Britain is dealing with the aftermath of a grisly murder of a soldier near the barracks which was the first fatal Islamist terror attack in the kingdom since the 2005 London bombings.

In Britain, armed police arrested three more men on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

Two men aged 28 and 24 were arrested at a home in southeast London. Police used a Taser electric stun gun on the older suspect, and on a 21-year-old man they arrested in a street around a mile from the murder scene.

Officers also searched four properties in London.

Both the suspects in the murder are Muslim converts from Nigerian Christian families, raising concerns in Britain about the radicalisation of young men.

Home Secretary Theresa May, the interior minister, warned there were "potentially" thousands of people at risk of being radicalised as she indicated plans for a fresh crackdown on extremist groups.

May said around 500 police and intelligence officers were working on the "horrific murder" of the soldier....

All in the family. "Kenya police shoot dead 'terror couple' who wounded 5 police officers in grenade attack," from the Associated Press, May 19 (thanks to Block Ness):

NAIROBI, Kenya – Police shot dead a couple suspected to be terrorists after they threw four grenades, wounding five officers in an overnight stand-off, a police official said Sunday.

Following a tip, investigators raided the apartment where the couple was staying in the Githurai Kimbo area on the outskirts of Nairobi Saturday evening and ordered them out of their house, said Boniface Mwaniki, the head of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit.

The couple refused to surrender, threw grenades and used their eight-month-old baby as a human shield, said Mwaniki.

Police fired tear-gas repeatedly into the house, said a resident of the building. The baby was removed from the house unconscious and two grenades were found in the house, said Augustine Nthumbi, the officer in charge of the Githurai Kimbo.

The incident highlights the threat of Islamic extremist violence in Kenya.

No kidding, really?

The man killed was Kenyan national Felix Otuko, who was suspected of carrying out two grenade attacks in October 2011 — the first of a string of grenade and gun attacks in Kenya, said Mwaniki of the police anti-terrorism unit.

Mwaniki said Otuko was a member al-Shabab cell with another Kenyan national Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, also known as Mohammed Seif, who is serving a life sentence in jail for grenade attacks in Nairobi on Oct. 24, 2011 which killed one person and injured 20 others.

Investigations showed that Oliacha supplied Otuko with the grenades for the two attacks, Mwaniki said....

"You mean Allah's will for us is life in a Kenyan prison?"

"I shudder to imagine the amount of damage that could have been seen." "Iranians jailed for life in Kenya over terror charges," from the BBC, May 6 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Two Iranians have been sentenced to life in prison by a Kenyan court on terrorism-related charges.

Ahmad Mohammed and Sayed Mousavi were convicted last week of possessing explosives, which they allegedly planned to use for an attack.

"I shudder to imagine the amount of damage that could have been seen," Judge Kiarie Waweru Kiarie said, AFP news agency reports.

The Iranian government denied that it was part of any plot to target Kenya.

On Sunday, its ambassador to Kenya, Malik Hussein Givzad, said the embassy would help the families of Mohammed and Mousavi to appeal against the judgement.

"As an embassy, what we can do is to assist the families of the convicted to seek redress at the High Court, if the lawyers feel that there was no concrete evidence," Mr Givzad said, Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reports.

"Iran has cordial business relations with Kenya. This was a judicial process, which we respect," he added.

'Cry of victims'

The court said Mohammed and Mousavi were suspected to have links with a network planning bombings in the capital, Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa.

Judge Kiarie said he had decided to sentence them to life in prison because the "cry of victims of previous terrorist attacks is louder" than their pleas for leniency, AFP reports.

Defence lawyers alleged that Mohammed and Mousavi were interrogated by Israeli security officers while in detention.

The prosecution denied the allegation.

Mohamed and Mousavi were arrested in June 2012 and charged with possessing 15kg (33 pounds) of the powerful explosive RDX....

Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or killing them -- whichever is more advantageous for the Muslims -- is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: "As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, 'When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks' (Qur'an sura 47, verse 4)" — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.

"Somali Islamists threaten to execute Kenyan hostages," from AFP, January 24 (thanks to Twostellas):

Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents issued an ultimatum to Kenya on Wednesday to release all prisoners held on terrorism charges or they will execute all Kenyan hostages they hold.

Issuing a February 14 deadline, the extremist group demanded in messages posted on Twitter the release of "all Muslim prisoners held on so-called terrorism charges in Kenya".

Kenya must also "secure the release of Muslims extradited to Uganda for terrorism charges", it added, apparently referring to those jailed or on trial for the Shebab’s July 2010 twin bomb attacks that killed at least 74 people in Kampala.

The Shebab also released a video titled "the final message" with two men featured and a photograph of four others, who the Shebab said were Kenyan prisoners....

"Following the expiration of this period, all the kuffar (non-Muslim) Kenyan prisoners who appeared in the recent video will be executed," the Shebab added on Twitter....

That's their jihad. What's yours?

One of the victims was a senior police officer, and al-Shabaab jihadists have offered a bounty for the jihad murder of Kenyan security personnel.

"Kenya: Five Dead in Garissa Restaurant Attack," from CISA News Africa, January 18:

Garissa — At least five people were killed, including a senior police officer, and six seriously wounded when gunmen attacked a restaurant in Garissa on Wednesday (January 16th).

"Four people died on the spot, while six others were rushed to the hospital," Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Maalim told AFP. "The attackers stormed the restaurant where patrons were having dinner or chatting and opened fire indiscriminately and then ran away."

Garissa deputy prison chief Allan Njagi was among the dead.

Police suspect al-Shabaab sympathizers in Garissa of carrying out this and other recent attacks, although the militant group has not claimed responsibility. The group has, however, offered a large bounty for the killing of Kenyan security officers in an attempt to recruit more Kenyan youth.

No arrests have yet been made in relation to the incident, said newly appointed area police Chief Charlton Mureithi.

Two suspected suicide bombers were also killed Thursday morning in nearby Hagadera camp in Dadaab refugee complex when their explosives went off while being handled, he said.

Mureithi said he suspects the explosives were to be planted on roads to target security forces....

Because they can elude security forces who are on the lookout for people from Muslim tribes, but not from Christian ones. War is deceit, as Muhammad said.

"Kenyan Jihadists Target Surprising Recruits: Ex-Christians," by Tom Osanjo in Christianity Today, January 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Hundreds of Kenyan youths who converted from Christianity to Islam—and then went to fight alongside jihadists in neighboring Somalia—are returning to their home churches. But these prodigal sons are not being welcomed back with fully open arms.

Instead, pastors are on high alert—with good reason. Al Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliated militia, has begun using young men from predominantly Christian ethnic groups to attack churches.

In November, an assailant hurled a grenade into a church located inside a police station, killing the pastor. In September, assailants threw grenades into a children's Sunday school class, killing a 9-year-old boy. In July, similar grenade attacks at two churches killed 17 worshipers.

Last October, Kenyan military forces entered Somalia to engage Al Shabab. The militia responded with a recruitment drive of Kenyan youth, offering cash incentives for the families of would-be martyrs.

"[Jihadists] have changed their recruitment tactics," said Wellington Mutiso, head of Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. "Instead of enlisting from predominantly Muslim communities such as the Somali, Boran, and others, they are targeting those from tribes that are majority Christians, such as the Kikuyus, Luos, and Luhyas."

Mutiso believes this is "an act of disguise," given that security forces have been concentrating on suspects from Muslim communities. "With the new recruits, the security forces have been left in a spin."

Jihadists have an easier time recruiting within Christian communities today because of Kenya's high unemployment rate (40 percent) and widespread poverty.

"A member of my church was given 50,000 Kenyan shillings (us$570), and he immediately converted to Islam," said David Gathanju, head of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. "There is also the issue of young men looking for quick money and not wanting to soil their hands in hard work."

That's what worries Mutiso. Former church members who fought in Somalia can attribute their absence to going away to college or changing jobs to a different town, he said. "They are less likely to be under close scrutiny and, before you know it, they will have wreaked havoc."...

This has resulted in a disturbing increase in Nigeria-style attacks on churches, forcing leaders to increase security. Nowadays it is common for churchgoers to be frisked and have their cars checked for explosives. Armed policemen have become part and parcel of almost all Kenyan church services.

In October, Alex Shikinda (now known as Musharaf Abdalla) became the latest convert from Christianity to confess in court to handling explosives on behalf of Al Shabab. In late 2011, another Kenyan from a western Christian tribe, Elgiva Bwire Oliacha (now known as Mohammed Seif), pleaded guilty to grenade attacks in Nairobi.

For Mutiso, the solution to this problem lies squarely with the government. "They know the mosques that were used as recruitment grounds," he said. "They can get information from the sheikhs [regarding who was recruited], so we can circulate the information among churches."...

But remember: the only "hate" involved here is displayed by those who speak out against atrocities like this one. "Kenya policeman killed, 11 injured in church attack," from the BBC, November 4 (thanks to David):

A grenade attack on a church in a police compound in eastern Kenya has killed one police officer and injured at least 11 other people, reports say.

The man who died was serving as pastor of the targeted church, in Garissa town near the border with Somalia.

Most of the wounded are also reported to be police officers; some of whom were airlifted to hospital in Nairobi.

In July, 15 people were killed in raids on churches in Garissa, and suspicion fell on the al-Shabab militant group.

Police blamed the Somalia-based group and its sympathisers for the attack, and said they were angry over Kenya's role in a UN-backed intervention force....

Witnesses were quoted as saying that the grenade in Sunday's attack was thrown from outside the compound, and landed on the iron-sheeted roof of the church while the officers and their families were inside attending a prayer session.

"It is believed to be a motor thrown or a grenade because it penetrated the roof before landing within the crowd. There is confusion," one police officer at the scene was quoted by Kenya's The Standard as saying.

Gunfire was also reportedly heard at the scene of the explosion.

Kenya's Red Cross said 11 wounded people were taken to hospital in Garissa, with three evacuated by air to Nairobi for further treatment....

In September, one child was killed and three seriously injured in a grenade attack on a church in Nairobi.

A mob later rounded on Somalis living near the church, injuring 13 people with sticks and stones.

How many more of these attacks are we going to see before a significant portion of the Western government and media elites decides that resisting jihad is not "racism," but a struggle for justice and basic human decency?

Probably no number of attacks will ever convince most of those elites.

"Deadly Kenya grenade attack hits children in church," from the BBC, September 30 (thanks to all who sent this in):

One child has been killed and three seriously hurt, police say, in a grenade attack on a church's Sunday school in the Kenya capital, Nairobi.

The attacker targeted St Polycarp's church on Juja Road.

A police spokesman blamed sympathisers of Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militant group, angry over Kenya's role in the UN-backed intervention force.

A mob later rounded on Somalis living near the church with sticks and stones in a suspected revenge attack.

Police chief Moses Nyakwama told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that 13 people had been injured in the revenge attack, in the suburb of Eastleigh.

'Running for their lives'

The fact that Sunday's bombing has immediately been blamed on "Al-Shabab sympathisers" is hardly surprising, given events in Somalia in recent days.

The hand-grenade, thrown into a crowded public place, is becoming a grimly familiar tactic in Kenya. In the past six months, it has been used in bars in Mombasa, churches in Garissa near the Somali border, as well as churches and a bus station in Nairobi....

"These suspects wanted to use these arms to harm innocent Kenyans during Sunday church services." Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Two suspects arrested over planning suicide attacks in Nairobi," from Agence France-Presse, September 14 (thanks to David):

Nairobi: Police in the Kenyan capital on Friday said they have arrested two suspects who were allegedly planning suicide attacks, and also seized six explosive vests and other arms and ammunition in an overnight raid.

"These suspects wanted to use these arms to harm innocent Kenyans during Sunday church services," a police officer involved in the raid told AFP.

"O Prophet! Rouse the believers to fight." -- Qur'an 8:65

"Kenya charges Muslim cleric with inciting Mombasa riots," by Joseph Akwiri for Reuters, September 3 (thanks to Jacob for both link and Qur'an reference):

(Reuters) - A Kenyan Muslim cleric accused by Washington of supporting al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia was charged on Monday with inciting violent protests that rocked the port city of Mombasa last week.

Abubaker Sharif allegedly urged protesters to burn down churches and kill police officers in Kenya's second-biggest city during riots that killed five people, including three police.

The violence followed the assassination of another Muslim cleric, Aboud Rogo, also accused by the United States of supporting militant group al-Shabaab - the Islamist rebels Kenya's military have been battling since invading Somalia last year.

Sharif turned himself in at a court in Mombasa on Monday after an arrest warrant was issued against him last week. He said his life was in danger in the wake of the rioting.

"He, without lawful excuse uttered words that all sheikhs associated with the government, and who are government agents (should) be slaughtered," the charge sheet read.

The cleric, who was accompanied by his lawyer and a group of activists, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in police custody until Wednesday.

Rogo, who had been facing charges of possessing weapons, was shot in his car by unknown attackers last Monday.

His supporters fought running street battles with security forces in the hours after his death, and sporadic violence continued over the following days. Churches were torched and two grenades were thrown at police vehicles.

The government said the violence was organised by Kenya's "enemies" and blamed Muslim radicals - including the slain cleric - for supporting al-Shabaab....

Sharif had previously been arrested in December after a grenade attack on a bus in Nairobi killed one person. He, like Rogo, had been out on bail. The two are on a U.S. sanctions list for allegedly supporting al-Shabaab.

But remember: the real problem is "Islamophobia." "One killed in Muslim cleric murder protest," from Standard Digital, August 28:

One person has been reported dead during a battle between police and youth protesting the killing of Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo outside Majengo mosque, Mombasa.

Gunmen shot dead the radical Muslim cleric in Bamburi area in Mombasa.

The cleric was killed when the van he was travelling in from Mtwapa towards Mombasa with three other people on board was sprayed with bullets near Pirates Beach.

Two of them have sustained serious injuries and rushed to hospital as his body was taken away.

According to the wife, Haniya said Saadar, Aboud who was driving the van was taking one person to hospital when the incident occured.

A conflict arose between police and the clerics' supporters as the latter fought to have custody of the body. In a private ambulance, the supporters seized the body claiming to take it to Kikambala, Kilifi for burial.

A Salvation Army church near the Majengo mosque where a service for the deceased was being held was set on fire. Protesters were dispersed as they tried to attack another church, Jesus Celebration centre in Tudor.

"Frustrated by lack of protection, Kenyan churches sue government," by Fredrick Nzwili in the Christian Science Monitor, August 29:

In the wake of the torching of churches in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa and grenade attacks on other churches around the country, Protestant leaders are trying a new tack to get more help from the government: they're suing.

Christian leaders say the targeting of churches with grenades, bombs, and guns by suspected members of the extremist Somalia-based Al Shabab Islamist group have gone largely unanswered by the government. A lawsuit, they argue, will force the government to meet what they say are its constitutional obligations to protect all citizens.

“We have instructed a team of lawyers to sue the government in court and to seek compensation for the loss of life for the destruction of churches and property,” said the Rev. Peter Karanja, an Anglican and general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, on Wednesday. “The government bears full responsibility for the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the victims who are under its care.”

An uneasy calm that had returned to the city was shattered Wednesday night when a grenade was hurled at the police who have been patrolling the city streets. The attack injured three officers who were part of a contingent of 100 Kenyan paramilitary soldiers, the General Service Unit, which had been send to Mombasa after two days of violence damaged churches, shops, and vehicles. The violence flared after what some say was an extrajudicial killing Monday of Sheikh Aboud Rogo, a radical cleric whom the United States had accused of supporting the Al Qaeda linked Al Shabab and who was awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges. Unknown gunmen had sprayed a van he was driving with bullets.

Soon after the sheikh's death, Muslim youths descended on churches in fresh attacks that brought the number of churches attacked across the country since April to more than 14. Attempts have made on others with worshipers being killed, injured, or maimed, said Rev. Karanja, as he stressed this was “an intentional provocation of Christians to retaliate.”

Churches have released a chronology of attacks to argue their case. In 2006, the Nairobi Pentecostal Church was attacked, with one worker dying. In 2010, an attack on a prayer rally in Nairobi Uhuru Park ground left 13 worshipers dead and more than 100 injured. In 2011, an East Africa Pentecostal Church in the town of Garissa was hit with grenades, with three Kenyans dying.

In April, three Kenyans died in another grenade attack on an interdenominational crusade in Mtwapa area in Mombasa, while four died in June in another attack on a church in the Ngara area of Nairobi. In July, 17 worshipers died in an AIC church when suspected Al Shabab militants attacked churches in Garissa. The churches say they are angry because no one has been arrested for these attacks, or those arrested have been released without any charges....

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Masked 'goons' kill at least 17 in attacks on churches in Kenya," from MSNBC.com, July 1 (thanks to Kenneth):

Masked attackers killed at least 17 people on Sunday in gun and grenade attacks on churches in a Kenyan town used as a base for operations against al-Qaida-linked insurgents in Somalia.

At least 45 people were wounded in the simultaneous attacks on Garissa, in the north of the East African country which has suffered a series of blasts since sending troops into Somalia last October to crush Somalia's al Shabaab militants.

"We have 17 bodies at the mortuary so far," regional medical officer Abdikadir Sheikh told Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Police said they suspected the attacks could have been the work of al-Shabab sympathizers or bandits, but it was too early to say. Inside Somalia, al Shabaab declined comment.

"The goons were clad in balaclavas," regional deputy police chief Philip Ndolo told Reuters from Garissa.

He said a total of seven attackers hurled grenades inside the Catholic Church and the African Inland Church and then opened fire with guns. They struck the churches, which are two miles apart, at around 10.15 a.m. local time (03:15 a.m. ET).

Two policemen were among the dead.

They were the latest attacks on Christian worshippers in Kenya after two people were killed in grenade blasts in March and April.

But Sunday's coordinated attacks on churches resembled the tactics of Nigeria's Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds of people on the other side of the continent.....

Acts of war. "Kenya plot: Fears Iran widening covert war," from UPI, June 28 (thanks to David):

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 28 (UPI) -- The recent arrest of two Iranians in Kenya on suspicion of plotting bomb attacks has heightened fears that Tehran is widening its covert war against Israel and the United States as Washington expands its secret intelligence operations across Africa.

The Iranians have rarely mounted major covert or intelligence operations in Africa, although they have used Sudan as a key conduit for weapons destined for the Palestinian Hamas militants and their allies in the Gaza Strip in recent years.

But West Africa and the Horn of Africa have largely been operational areas for al-Qaida, a Sunni organization that's religiously and ideologically opposed to Shiite Iran, and its Somali offshoot, al-Shabaab.

Kenya security authorities, aided by U.S. and British agents, arrested the two Iranians June 20 in Nairobi, the West African country's capital. The men reportedly led authorities to a cache of 33 pounds of military-grade explosive, believed to be RDX.

They were charged Monday with intent to carry out bombings, which they deny. But the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued a warning Tuesday to Americans to avoid traveling to Kenya.

The arrest of the Iranians suggests that "the suspects may have been preparing to deliver the next blow in the covert intelligence war that has raged since 2007 between the United States, Israel and their allies on one side and Iran and its allies on the other," the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed....

Careful, now: might have been an Amish extremist. "Kenya: Blast blamed on 'Arabic-looking bearded man'" from PTI, May 29:

Nairobi: An explosion ripped through a building full of small shops in downtown Nairobi on Monday, 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....

Speaking to a news agency from a Nairobi hospital bed, Irene Wachira said a bearded man came to a nearby stall three times and acted as if he were interested in buying something. Wachira said the third time he came with a bag that he left behind. The blast occurred shortly afterward, she said.

Wachira, a vendor in the building, described the man as "Arabic-looking" because of his relatively light skin. A doctor told the news agency that another person wounded in the blast said a Somali-looking man left behind the bag. The doctor said he could not be quoted by name.

Police officials who first responded hesitated to blame terrorism, given the lack of shrapnel. Kenya Power ruled out an electrical fault as the cause. The national electricity agency said the building had no ground-mounted transformer that would explode and determined that all electrical connections to the building that would blow in a short circuit remained intact.

The police later released a statement saying that the cause of the explosion had not yet been established. Police are investigating the possibility that an improvised explosive device caused the blast, though the police said it was unlikely a conventional bomb had been used.

Nightclubs: haram. Murdering people who go to nightclubs: halal. Sharia Alert from Kenya: "Gunmen attack night club Mombasa," from the Telegraph, May 15 (thanks to David):

Gunmen detonated grenades outside a night club in the Kenyan city of Mombasa on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding several others in the latest attack since Kenya sent troops into Somalia to crush Islamist militants.

Nairobi has said al-Shabaab militants, who merged with al-Qaeda earlier this year, are behind a surge in violence and kidnappings threatening tourism in east Africa's biggest economy.

Police said the target of the attack was Bella Vista sports bar in a street known for its nightlife in Mombasa, a popular holiday destination for Kenyans and foreigners.

A pool of blood marked the entrance to the club, and spent cartridges and grenade shells were strewn near its gate. Some cars nearby were riddled with shrapnel marks.

Police said the attackers tried to force their way into the club, but were barred at the gate by guards. They then shot at random and hurled the explosive devices....

Imagine if they put that ingenuity and resourcefulness into building something constructive, rather than attempting to blackmail their targets into submission by destroying them bit by bit. It is far easier to destroy than rebuild, and easier to get attention that way, and so they become self-serving vandals, launching cowardly attacks against civilians.

In Somalia and Nigeria and particular, their respective jihadist movements seem bent on ruling an empty country, if they have to kill, expel, or starve everyone in it to impose Sharia. But when the country is subdued, or more likely even before, they will turn on each other.

"Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria bombings deadlier in 2011," by Jason Straziuso for the Associated Press, March 15:

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Bomb attacks in Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia rose in 2011 as al-Qaida-affiliated terror groups used more sophisticated devices to kill more people with each explosion, the Pentagon's anti-IED unit said.

Nigeria saw a nearly fourfold jump in the number of improvised explosive device incidents last year, while Kenya saw an 86 percent increase, according to the unit. Underscoring the threat, both nations saw deadly blasts last weekend: A car bomb attack on a church during Mass in Nigeria and grenades thrown at Kenyans as they waited at a crowded bus stop.

Militants last year began using a deadlier type of bomb known as a shaped charge for the first time in both Somalia and Nigeria, John Myrick, a U.S. military bomb expert told The Associated Press. Advanced bomb-makers use shaped charges to increase the force of a bomb so that it can penetrate armor.

Such deadly explosives were used repeatedly by militants at the height of the Iraq war, and to a lesser extent in Afghanistan. The migration of the deadlier bombs to Africa is evidence that more sophisticated al-Qaida-linked groups are advising and training African militants.

While Somalia saw only a small increase in attacks, the newer technology lead to greater casualties and deeper impact on Africa Union forces, Myrick said.

On Wednesday, a suicide bomb attack aimed at the main government compound in Mogadishu killed at least three people, said the spokesman for the African Union force known as AMISOM.

Bombs in Somalia "are definitely more sophisticated and they're definitely more effective against AMISOM armored vehicles, which represents an advance in the capabilities of the insurgents," said Myrick, the chief of the global missions task force for the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization.

Myrick said that the more effective bombs and attacks "indicate an increase in logistical support from some of the more sophisticated groups on the continent, and also an increase in training."

Specifically, the anti-IED unit says al-Qaida's North African branch is increasing support to Nigerian militants, and another affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is supporting Somali militant groups.

Nigeria saw 196 bomb incidents in 2011, compared with 52 incidents in 2010, U.S. military numbers show. An incident is when a bomb detonates or is discovered before detonation. The Pentagon's anti-IED unit expects Nigeria to see a slight increase in bomb incidents this year, before attack numbers plateau because militants will have reached their capacity to produce them, Myrick said.

The Joint IED Defeat Organization says militants are increasingly targeting events that will produce mass casualties. A Christmas Day blast that struck St. Theresa Catholic Church near Nigeria's capital killed 44 people.

Nigeria Police Commissioner Ambrose Aisabor, who oversees the Nigeria Police Force's anti-bomb squad, blamed the increase on a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.

"Since the past two years, the activities of Boko Haram have been on the increase," he told AP. "A lot of IEDs are being detonated in the northeastern part of the country." [...]

Somalia saw a slight rise — from 182 to 191 — while incidents in neighboring Kenya jumped from 14 to 26. Many of Kenya's bomb attacks were near the Somali border and appeared to have been planted by Somali militants al-Shabab.

Kenya also suffered several grenade attacks in its capital. Al-Shabab denied it was behind last weekend's grenade blasts, which killed nine people. The research firm Eurasia Group said if al-Shabab didn't carry out the blasts the attacks show that Kenya faces threats from potentially several terror groups.

Col. Cyrus Oguna, the officer in charge of the Kenyan military forces that moved into Somalia in October, said his troops encountered many IEDs at the beginning of its operation and lost "a couple" soldiers. But he said his forces have since implemented counter-IED strategies, reducing the bomb's frequency and effectiveness.

The commander of AMISOM troops in Somalia said his forces are seeing "improved technology" in IEDs. [...]

IEDs are the weapon of choice for terrorists and insurgents the world over because of how easy they are to make. As Myrick said: "An 8-year-old can put together an IED if they try." In addition, IED blasts garner more attention.

"People in the press in general tend to take a more active view of things that go boom instead of things that go bang. Shooting up a refugee camp, while newsworthy, would not get the amount of coverage as an IED in a refugee camp," he said.

"We'll see this problem for decades. JIEDDO's view is that the IED is going to remain the weapon of choice for insurgents and terrorists for at least the next 40 years."

The intrepid, manly mujahedin don't generally do as well when they have to fight like men. And so they favor cowardly ambushes against unarmed civilians. "Kenya faces new terror threat as six killed in Nairobi," by Bernard Momanyi for Agence France-Presse, March 11:

Kenya faced a new terror threat on Sunday after a grenade attack blamed on Somali Islamist militia killed six people and injured 63 in a bus terminal in the capital Nairobi.

Four grenades were thrown Saturday night only yards apart from a car driving past the busy terminal, Internal Security Minister George Saitoti said Sunday.

Dozens of buses were parked in the terminal packed with Kenyans leaving for the weekend to visit relatives outside the capital.

While responsibility for the attack had not been claimed by late Sunday morning, Kenyan authorities blamed it on the hardline Islamist Shebab militia which Kenyan troops are battling in neighbouring Somalia.

"We suspect this is the work of Al-Shebab, but all this will come out in the investigations," Saitoti told reporters.

Al-Shebab has threatened Kenya since it sent its troops into Somalia in mid-October to dislodge the Islamic insurgents controlling swathes of the south, which it accused of a series of kidnappings and attacks on its territory.

Deploring Saturday's attack, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said "This is an act of people who think that they can puncture the resolve to fight terror. It is a difficult moment but it should strengthen our resolve and I am sure we will win."

Two people died on the spot, one on the way to hospital, while three other victims succumbed to their injuries during the night, hospital sources said.

"The death toll is now six, and we have 63 people undergoing treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital, 11 of them were seriously injured," Saitoti said....

Another bright idea from the boobs at al-Shabaab. "Attack claims 2 Kenyan soldiers, 11 Shabaab," by Bernard Momanyi for Capital FM, January 23:

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 23 – Two Kenyan soldiers were killed in Somalia on Sunday in a major attack that also left 11 Al Shabaab militants dead.

Military Spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) soldier was also killed in the air strike.

“Yesterday at around 2300hrs KDF/TFG conducted a raid on an Al Shabaab camp where 11 were killed,” the army spokesman said adding “out of the raid KDF unfortunately lost two of its personnel while TFG lost one.”

Chirchir said several arms were recovered from the slain Al Shabaab militants.

On Saturday, Cyrus Oguna of the Defence Forces said the militia had resorted to using women wearing bras fitted with explosives to further their cause.

Oguna said that the militia was getting desperate and had started using unconventional means to strike back at the Kenyan army.

He added that the outlawed group was also using propaganda, such as killing civilians and claiming they are KDF officials, as their new weapon.

“We are all aware that Al Shabaab for a long time prohibited women from wearing bras.

The phenomenon that is emerging now is that Al-Shabaab is using these women who are in their ranks and supplying them with bras that are fitted with explosives and this is something that is critical even to homeland security,” he explained.

He said that they were also dressing up as civilians in a bid to fool both the Somali people and the Kenya Defence Forces.

“They now dress like herders and in one incident, they fired at our troops and our troops fired back and they complained that we were firing at civilians,” he observed.

“They are trying to make us look bad by trying to engage non combatants. However, Al Shabaab dressing like me at one minute does not make him a civilian when he dresses otherwise the next minute,” he pointed out....

Just days ago, we noted how consistent and formulaic jihadist rhetoric is from place to place, almost to the point where one could program a Jihadist Hate Screed Generator and kick back with a cup of tea while giving a hearty takbir or three that there's an app for that. Choose your language, select your infidel, "set it and forget it!"

Clearly, the generator has a few kinks to work out, but it appears to be up and running in Kenya. "Kenya Islamic group claims ties to al-Shabab," by Katharine Houreld for the Associated Press, January 14:

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An increasingly vocal Islamist group says its leader has been appointed to represent an al-Qaida-linked Somali militia in Kenya, a development that underscores the dangers Kenya faces from Somalia's insurgency.

The statement by the Kenya-based Muslim Youth Center came amid a flurry of warnings from embassies about planned terror attacks in Kenya. The Somali militant group al-Shabab has promised to attack Kenya for its decision to send troops to Somalia in October.

Al-Shabaab also means "the youth," though there has been some discussion of re-branding.

The Muslim Youth Center was named in a United Nations report last year for recruiting, fundraising, and running training and orientation events for al-Shabab. An official al-Shabab spokesman did not answer questions about whether the center now represents al-Shabab in Kenya, but a statement published on the center's blog on Wednesday was unequivocal.

"There can be no doubt that Amiir Ahmad Iman Ali's elevation to become the supreme Amiir of Kenya for al Shabaab is recognition from our Somali brothers who have fought tirelessly against the kuffar on the importance of the Kenyan mujahideen in Somalia," the statement said. The word kuffar appears to be an alternative spelling of kafir, an Arabic word meaning "unbeliever."

Yes.

Ali was featured in combat fatigues giving a 50-minute lecture in a Jan. 6 video produced by al-Kataib, al-Shabab's media foundation. He referred to wars in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya. It was the first time an al-Kataib video was dedicated solely to his message, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors communications from jihadi groups.

And if you can't be with the one you hate, honey, hate the one you're with:

"If you are unable to reach the land of jihad ... then raise your sword against the enemy that is closest to you," Ali said. "Jihad should be now be waged inside Kenya, which is legally a war zone."

"You don't have to get permission from your parents," he added.

There are several ahadith where aspiring jihadists are told to consult their parents, but jihad is called obligatory on all believers (fard ayn) because the unbelievers have entered a Muslim land (never mind who fired the first shot...).

Al-Shabab threatened huge terror attacks in Kenya in October after Kenyan troops entered Somalia over concerns that insecurity from Somalia's 21-year-old civil war was spilling over the border. The U.S. Embassy has put extra security measures into place and last week the British Embassy warned that a terror attack was being planned.

Ali, also known as Abdul Fatah of Kismayo, is a Kenyan who has been based in Somalia since 2009 and commands a force of 200 to 500 fighters, according to the July U.N. report. The report said that "he now intends to conduct large-scale attacks in Kenya, and possibly elsewhere in East Africa."

Ali speaks fluent Swahili, English, Arabic and some Somali, according to a security official in Kenya. He has also studied Islamic teachings extensively and has two degrees. The official asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said that Ali wanted to be seen as Kenya's answer to Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American cleric killed in Yemen last year by a U.S. missile strike.

A post on the group's website purporting to be from Ali complained about impunity for Kenyan army officers who have killed Muslims, set up arbitrary police detentions and renditions — complaints also voiced by Kenyan and international human rights groups.

But Ali also warned in a statement rife with spelling errors: "The Muslim lands will once again rule with Shari'ah and your kufr democracy will be dumped in the seewage."...