US warns of 'imminent' terror threat in Kenya as Al Shabab promises 'open war'
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The US embassy in Kenya has warned of an 鈥渋mminent threat鈥� of attacks targeting foreigners a week after Kenya sent troops into neighboring Somalia to fight an Islamist militia in the biggest Kenyan military operation since the country鈥檚 independence.
Though the embassy did not specify who was behind the threat, it brings home Kenyans' fears of retaliation by the Islamist Al Shabab group for Nairobi鈥檚 military offensive in Somalia.
The American embassy in Nairobi, in a notice posted on its website and reportedly sent to Americans living in and visiting Kenya, said it had received 鈥渃redible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks directed at prominent Kenyan facilities and areas where foreigners are known to congregate, such as malls and night clubs.鈥�
The embassy said it has 鈥渢aken measures to limit official US government travel to Kenya鈥� and urged Americans to consider deferring travel to Kenya. The alert did not indicate who might carry out the attack, but said the notice . In 1998, bombings at the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people.
In response to the notice, issued Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports that officials increased security in Nairobi鈥檚 central business district. Security personnel pushed people back from the entrance of a Hilton hotel, and and 鈥� on people who looked as if they could be Somali,鈥� according to AFP.
Last week, Kenya sent several thousand troops into Somalia to fight Al Shabab, which Kenya has blamed for a spate of kidnappings of foreigners inside Kenya. In September, armed men killed a British man and kidnapped his wife. This month, a disabled French woman was kidnapped and later died, and two Spanish aid workers were also kidnapped.
Al Shabab, which controls large swaths of southern Somalia, has denied responsibility for the kidnappings. The group has also threatened retaliation for the invasion.
'Open war' against 'the global 海角大神 invasion'
On Saturday, Al Shabab leader Mohamed Abdi Godane said, according to AFP, 鈥淭he Islamic regions in Somalia are all on high alert to prepare for the that is our response to the incursions by some neighboring countries who are taking part in the global 海角大神 invasion against Somalia." Reuters reports that Al Shabab has warned Kenyan troops to withdraw from Somalia or risk bringing the 鈥渇lames of war鈥� into Kenya.
Reuters also reports that Kenyan and Somali troops were in southern Somalia Sunday. Reuters called the town of Afmadow 鈥渁 strategic transit point for goods trafficked illegally through the rebel-controlled Kismayo port, Al Shabab's nerve center for operations.鈥�
If they could drive Al Shabab out of Kismayo, the troops say they would deprive the group of a base for logistics and recruitment.
Kenyans worry about retaliation
But as the Monitor reports, many Kenyans are questioning the operations鈥� goals and its exit strategy from Somalia, pushed by worries about retaliation.
In neighboring Uganda, Al Shabab launched suicide bombings that killed at least 74 people, saying the attack was retribution for Uganda鈥檚 military support of Somalia鈥檚 government.
