2 Dead in Nairobi Explosion

A fatal explosion occurred just outside of the Ambassadeur Hotel in downtown Nairobi, Kenya this morning during rush hour, according to the Associated Press. Two people were killed and 30 others were wounded in the spectacle of flying shards of glass. Nobody knows the exact cause of the explosion or who fabricated it. Many witnesses have explained and told their perspectives, but almost all of the views conflicted with each other's stories.

One police official, Commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali told journalists that the explosive was being carried by somebody or someone. It is still unclear if this was an attempted suicide bombing.

"Linet Atieno, spokeswoman of the Kenya Red Cross, said that two people were killed in the blast," according to the AP.

33 of the wounded victims were currently in the hospital, with four taken directly for surgery and another six in badly injured.

So far what has been pieced together is that a man exited a taxi and approached to enter a tiny restaurant in downtown Nairobi. A guard at the door detained him because of his suspicious attire and manner. Soon after this incident, the explosion occurred. The officers interviewed at the scene of the crime kept names anonymous and declined to give any further details, according to the AP.

Though, the police did add on that they did not have sufficient evidence to link the bombing to the mysterious man at the restaurant since the incident was still in the works of being solved.

The Associated Press was told by two men that a man dropped off a black bag near a shoe shiner near the hotel in downtown Nairobi. Then, the blast occurred.

"The black bag was left on the ground when this man hit me," as he ran away, said Robert Maritim, who had just finished having his shoes shined, according to the AP.

24-year-old Maritim told journalists that he was knocked to the ground by the man. When he attempted to regain himself and stand, the explosion carried him off of the floor, flinging him into a tree. One of the shoe shiners was wounded as well.

The windows of the restaurant were blown out and victims lay scattered on the sidewalk among the chunks of broken glass. The police rushed to assist the injured individuals.

The last serious bombing in Nairobi, Kenya was back in 1998. The U.S. embassy was hit in that city as well as the one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing a total of 225 people, according to the AP.

Sources:

Associated Press, Two killed in Nairobi hotel blast, http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/06/11/kenya.blast.ap/index.html