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Saturday, October 25, 2003

Al-Qaeda plotted to destroy US embassy in Kenya

Associated Press
Nairobi, October 24

Al-Qaeda operatives planned to simultaneously drive a car bomb and fly a
small plane laden with explosives into the US embassy in Nairobi in June,
according to a Kenyan police account of the interrogation of a terror
suspect.

The plot is detailed in a police statement and could explain why the new US
embassy in Nairobi closed on four days that month.

Salmin Mohammed Khamis, one of six men charged with murder for bombing a
Kenyan hotel in November 2002, told police of the plan after he was arrested
on June 17. His confession might also explain why days later Kenyan
officials banned flights to and from Somalia, a lawless neighbour cited
repeatedly as a terrorist haven.

The plot was documented in a statement by John M'mbijiwe, an investigator
with the police anti-terrorism unit. The statement was one of 164 pre-trial
statements from witnesses and investigators collected by prosecutors,
submitted to the court.

While a Kenyan prosecutor declined to comment on the statements, he did
confirm their existence and that they had been given to the court.
Khamis, a 27-year-old Kenyan who worked in a Mombasa hardware store, has
been in police custody since his arrest in Mombasa and his lawyer could not
confirm the contents of the statement.

The US embassy refused to comment on M'mbijiwe's statement and Kenyan police
officials were not immediately available.

© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.
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