One child was killed and three others were seriously wounded on Sunday morning when a blast ripped through a church in Nairobi in a suspected grenade attack, police said.
“One child has died and three others have been seriously injured,” said Moses Nyakwama, Nairobi police chief. “We suspect it was a grenade.”
The explosion targeted the part of the church set aside for children.
“I just heard two loud explosions and then everything went quiet before screams erupted,” said Faid Kassim who resides in an estate near the church.
A dozen worshippers were also injured in the blast or while trying to help the victims at the ACK Saint Polycarp church on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital.
Churches in Kenya have become increasingly targeted by the terrorists, mainly in Nairobi and at border towns near Somalia.
The attacks, which have not been claimed are thought to be in retaliation for the Kenyan army’s intervention in neighbouring Somalia, where it is fighting the country’s Al-Qaeda-linked Al Shabab Islamist fighters.
The church blast came a day after the Shabaab abandoned their last stronghold in Somalia, retreating from the southern port city of Kismayo in the face of an assault by African Union troops.
Police have urged members of the public to remain vigilant and volunteer any information to authorities.
Leave a Reply