Friday, November 29, 2002

12 Killed in Attacks on Israelis in Kenya; Missiles Miss Jet

In coordinated assaults on Israelis in the Kenyan city of Mombasa on Thursday, terrorists fired shoulder-launched missiles at a crowded Israeli passenger jet, missing their target, minutes before three suicide bombers drove up to the doors of an Israeli-owned hotel and detonated their explosives.

The bombers killed themselves and at least 12 others — 9 of them Kenyans and 3 of them Israelis — and wounded dozens more. In the chaos of black smoke, screams and burning thatch, the blast gutted the resort hotel, the Paradise.

Israeli and Kenyan officials said that, though there were competing claims of responsibility for the attack, it was possible that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks. But the Bush administration cautioned that it was premature to blame Al Qaeda.

A senior official with the protection and security division of Israel's Shin Bet security agency said that the attack was carefully plotted.

"We're looking at a very planned, organized attack against Israelis in Mombasa," the official said. "They were looking for Israelis to kill. If the incident succeeded, it would have resulted in the deaths of over 300 to 400 Israelis."

He said that Israel had learned of two competing claims of responsibility for the attack, but, declining to name the groups, he said that intelligence agents did not consider the claims solid.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/29/international/middleeast/29KENY.html?pagewanted=all&position=top

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