Kenyan police probe twin grenade attacks in coastal city

Kenyan authorities said on Sunday that they have launched investigations into the twin grenade attacks that left at one person dead and 33 others injured to establish the motive behind the twin attacks. Deputy regional place commander Jacinta Kinywa said the police are also pursuing those behind the attacks which took place on Saturday night in Mtwapa about 15 km north of Mombasa and at an entertainment spot in Mombasa. “We have launched investigations to establish the cause of the twin blasts and we are also pursuing crucial leads that may lead to the arrest of the suspects in the two incidents,” Kinywa said by telephone on Sunday. Kinywa however said no arrests have been made but they are tracking down a saloon car which was seen in Mtwapa, the scene of the first incident as it was speeding off, moments after the blast. Witnesses also claimed its occupants are the ones who threw the grenade. “We have also launched investigations to establish exactly what type of explosives they were,” she said. The east African nation’s coastal towns are the backbone of the country’s thriving tourism industry, which has been hit by the fear of terror attacks and the kidnapping of foreigners by Somali pirates from resorts near the border with Somalia. Coast Provincial Commissioner Ernest Munyi said on Saturday night that three people were seriously injured in the first blast which took place in Mtwapa while two people were seriously wounded in the second incident in Municipal stadium in Mombasa. Munyi said passengers in the vehicle hurled a grenade at a group of Christian faithful who were holding a crusade at Mtwapa while a grenade was also hurled a few minutes after the first incident at View Stadium bar in Mombasa. Coast Provincial General Hospital Administrator David Mwangi, confirmed all except one patient, had been taken to wards, after leaving the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Among those injured in the second blast which took place at the View Bar and Restaurant are a Criminal Investigations Officer (CID) , John Muteti who was near the vicinity, was injured. But customers at the bar had earlier confirmed that one person believed to be a police officer was injured, adding that the device was thrown by unknown persons from outside the premise. Those injured and admitted at the referral hospital were identified as Nailan Lugo, Keremi of 23 years old, Raphael Kalume, a 30 year-old father of two,