Deadly blasts hit buses in Kenyan capital

At least three people have been killed after two buses driving on a busy highway in the Kenyan capital Nairobi were struck by explosive devices.

Blood and broken glass littered the road where the two buses stood about one kilometre from each other. Both were heading out of town along Thika Super Highway, which connects the capital to the outskirts of the city.

The attack came a day after twin blasts in the port city of Mombasa killed four people when attackers threw an explosive device at passengers at a bus station, and also targeted a luxury hotel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest assault, but Kenya has blamed similar attacks on the al-Qaeda-linked Somali group al-Shabab, which killed at least 67 people at the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi last September.

“So far three people have been confirmed dead, one was killed at the scene and two died in hospital,” Moses Ombati, the deputy police commander for Nairobi, told the Reuters news agency.

“The final report will be known later tonight or tomorrow, once we check with all the hospitals.”

More than 60 wounded – at least 20 of them in critical condition – were taken to various hospitals with shrapnel injuries and torn limbs, medical officials said.

Somali fighters have been carrying out such attacks in retaliation for Kenya’s intervention in neighbouring Somalia in October 2011.

The fighters want Kenya to withdraw its troops, but Nairobi has rejected their demand.

Improvised devices 

Police believe that the attackers planted improvised explosive devices inside the buses, posing as passengers.

One of the buses, painted green, had its rear window blown off and all windows shattered, while the other bus, red in colour, had a huge hole ripped out of its side.

Several passengers from the buses were being treated on the road, while the severely wounded were rushed to hospitals.

Kenyans took to Twitter to express their anger over the attacks, demanding that police be more vigilant and telling al-Shabab that there would be no compromise, according to Reuters.

The Nation newspaper said the 45-seater buses were almost full when the blasts occurred.

Both Nairobi and Muslim-majority Mombasa, one of the main gateways to east Africa as well as a popular tourist destination, have been hit by sporadic unrest in recent months.

In March, two people were arrested in Mombasa along with a car packed with explosives. Intelligence sources say they believe the car was rigged in Somalia and driven into Kenya for a high-profile bombing.