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Israeli report links Kenya terrorist to al Qaeda
MOMBASA, Kenya (CNN) -- One of the three suicide terrorists who killed more than a dozen people in a hotel bombing here is identified by Israeli Army Radio as Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah -- a name that matches one of the most wanted al Qaeda terrorists sought by the FBI. The name of another of the bombers -- Faed Ali Sayam, a Kenyan Muslim -- also is similar to the name of a wanted al Qaeda terrorist. Both of the men were indicted in connection with the deadly 1998 twin U.S. embassy bombings in Africa that killed 224 people. (Full story) The FBI had no immediate comment on the reported identities. The bombing was one of two attacks in Kenya that targeted Israelis. Two missiles just missed a chartered Israeli airliner taking tourists back to Israel. John Malan Sawe, the Kenyan ambassador to Israel, put the blame for Thursday's bombing squarely on Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, which was behind the 1998 embassy bombings. "I do believe the people who have been responsible for terrorism all over the world must be the same people who have done it," said Sawe. "I believe it must be connected to al Qaeda." State Department sources said they have not determined who is responsible in Thursday's "clearly coordinated" attacks -- the firing of surface-to-air missiles at an Israeli charter plane and the car bombing. Among theories under consideration are that the attacks were planned by Hezbollah or other Palestinian rejectionist groups alone, or that they were planned by one of those groups in concert with al Qaeda. Thirteen people and the three bombers were killed in the hotel attack. The missiles missed the Arkia Boeing 757 and it arrived safely in Tel Aviv after the pilot reported seeing "smoke trails" behind the plane seconds after takeoff. (Full story) Among the Israeli victims were two young brothers: Noy and Dvir Anter, ages 12 and 13, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The boys' mother and sister were among the wounded. Rescue workers put the number of wounded at 26, 13 of them Kenyans and 13 Israelis. Screaming children covered in blood searched desperately for their parents amid the wreckage, witnesses said. (Full story) Some of the wounded were hurt by glass flying into their rooms, and others were burned. The owner of the Paradise Hotel in Malindi, north of Mombasa, said three men fought with security guards before driving into the hotel. Officials said at about 8:30 a.m. local time a vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the hotel and was refused entry. The men reversed and drove through the gate and into the reception area, causing the huge explosion that tore through the building. The car bomb appeared to have been made of plastic explosives, police said.
The attack came moments after a group of Israeli tourists had arrived to check in. Officials from Israel's foreign ministry said Kenyans performing a welcome dance for hotel guests were among the wounded. A previously unknown group calling itself "The Army of Palestine" faxed a claim of responsibility to the Reuters news agency in Beirut. Another such fax was received by Al-Manar, Hezbollah television, where editors said it did not appear credible. In a faxed statement, the previously unheard-of group said it wanted to "make the world hear once again the voice of Palestinian refugees, and to cast light on Zionist terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza." The Bush administration has offered assistance to Israel and Kenya, and a couple of foreign national investigators working for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi have been dispatched to support the investigation in Mombasa. In addition, President Bush issued a statement saying, "I condemn, in the strongest possible terms" both the attacks in Kenya. "The United States remains firmly committed, with its partners around the world, to the fight against terror and those who commit these heinous acts," he said. (Full statement) U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell issued a similar statement, adding, "We also call on the Palestinians to take immediate and sustained steps to eradicate the infrastructure of terrorism and violence that has wrought such tragic bloodshed."
Israeli intelligence sources told CNN that Kenyan authorities recovered two launch tubes from a field adjacent to Mombasa's airport where the chartered plane took off with 261 passengers and crew. The missiles fired were "almost certainly SA-7s, or Strela missiles," the sources said, because Stingers and SA-18s are heat-seeking, and therefore unlikely to miss. (More on missiles) Pilot Rafi Marek decided to continue to Tel Aviv after checking that the aircraft was working properly. (Pilot's story) Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Today they fired missiles at Israeli planes, tomorrow they'll fire missiles at U.S. planes, British planes, planes from every state." Kenya has seen previous terrorist attacks against Western interests. On August 7, 1998, a blast at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi killed 219 people and wounded 5,000. A nearly simultaneous attack on the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Tanzania killed 12 people and injured more than 80. (Full story) The United States sentenced four men to life in prison without parole for their roles in the attacks. It accused them of having links to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network, who were also blamed for the September 11 attacks. Mombasa is used by U.S. Navy vessels assigned to the Indian Ocean. Although the ships bring dollars to the city of 1 million people, many of the mostly Muslim residents resent Americans. Muslims are a minority in Kenya as a whole, officially accounting for 10 percent of the country's 29 million people. Copyright 2002 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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