Police detonate abandoned explosive in Nairobi

Police Sunday detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that was found abandoned near a petrol station in Mlango Kubwa area, Nairobi.

The device was found Sunday night by a resident who told police he had seen a suspicious item on the roadside.

Bomb disposal officials who visited the scene carried the device away and safely detonated it. Police confirmed the device had four bottles of petrol, a bottle of ammonium fertilizer and a detonator attached to it.

The experts said the IED was ready to explode and could have caused damage and even deaths.

Nairobi head of police Benson Kibui said they are yet to get those behind the manufacture and delivery of the device to the scene.

“We do not know the target of the device and motive of those behind it. Our officers are investigating to get the criminals behind the IED,” said Kibui.

He added police patrols had been intensified to tame such planned terror incidents.

The discovery came as police said they had been on alert following intelligence reports of planned attacks on petrol stations.

“But we do not know if the target was the nearby petrol station or out of a dispute over ownership of a house in the area,” said another officer who asked not to be named.

Intensified security checks

Security agents have intensified operations in the city to curb any planned terror attacks.

This is ahead of US President Barack Obama’s July tour. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kenya on Sunday for security talks.

A number of top US officials have visited Kenya since Obama announced his visit.

As Kerry landed, former US president Bill Clinton and his daughter who arrived on Friday were in Samburu. The Clintons were scheduled to leave Kenya Sunday.

Many security agents continue to arrive in Kenya ahead of Obama’s arrival during which he is expected to visit his father’s ancestral home in Siaya.

Already two special cars that he will use in the visit have been flown into the country.

It also comes weeks after a delegation of the US Senate and US Congress toured Kenya and discussed the war against terror, regional security, trade and investment issues.