Bartamaha (Nairobi):- The Kenyan government has sent senior anti-terror detectives to Uganda to help the country investigate the Sunday night’s blasts that killed 76 people and wounded more others.

The local daily, the Standard, reported on Wednesday that the detectives left Nairobi on Tuesday hours after Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki pledged support to the neighbouring country.

“In the spirit of East African Community, we are in Kampala to help them and also know the mode used to commit the crime,” the head of Anti-terrorism Police Nicholas Kamwende told the newspaper. “It should not be seen that Uganda is not capable to investigate the incident but a sign that we are together with our neighbours.”

The suicide attacks on an Ethiopian restaurant and a sports club in Kampala left more than 70 people dead and the attacks came as those victims were watching on TV the World Cup finals between Spain and the Netherlands in South Africa.

President Kibaki, whose country has been hit twice by terrorists, on Tuesday condemned the barbaric act and assured his counterpart Yoweri Museveni of Kenya’s support in bringing the perpetrators to book.

“I condemn this heinous and cowardly act which should only serve to strengthen our collective resolve to stamp out the evil of terrorism and promote a culture of peace and tolerance within our region,” the President said.

“I pledge the full support of the government of Kenya in working together with your government to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Kibaki in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

The Kenyan detectives dispatched to Uganda will be joining a three-man team of detectives from America’s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) dispatched there to lead the deadly probe that has sent chilling waves in the East African nation and her borders.

Kibaki commended the country’s commitment to the desire and struggle for peace through peacekeeping missions in Somalia.

The development came as senior security chiefs met in Nairobi late Tuesday to discuss the implications of the twin bomb blasts which ripped through crowds watching a World Cup final match in two social places.

The meeting was chaired by Nairobi Provincial Commissioner James Waweru and attended by district commissioners and divisional police chiefs.

Sources at the meeting said it was agreed that adequate security should be maintained in all parts of the city, particularly at social places and crowded areas like bus parks which are common targets of terrorists.

According to the Standard, the officers wanted to review security measures to deter any such acts in the city. Insiders said the meeting had been summoned to specifically discuss the threat of terrorism in Nairobi.

“Given there were substances like detonators found in Kampala, it was necessary to meet and chart the way forward,” said a senior official, who asked for anonymity.

Sources said the meeting resolved to ask respective police commanders and social joints’ managers to be vigilant.

“Kenyans also need to be careful to ensure suspicious characters are identified in time. Police cannot be all over,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

Somali Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, a group with ties to al Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The group, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, has repeatedly threatened further attacks on Uganda and Burundi, both of which have peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa nation, if the troops are not withdrawn.

Reports said a Somali’s head was found at the scene of one blast, and he may have been a suicide bomber. The Ugandan authorities have also confirmed making several arrests in connection to the attack.

The Islamist militias including al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam have been battling Somalia’s government since 2007 and now control most of southern and central Somalia, as well as parts of Mogadishu.

The twin blasts came two days after a commander with al-Shabaab called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi which have contributed troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Regional security analysts say the blast at the Ethiopian Village restaurant in particular has raised suspicions of al- Shabab involvement.

Ethiopia backs Somalia’s government against the rebels. And Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement, stoking an insurgency that still rages.

About 5,000 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu propping up the fragile interim government.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) force is engaged in frequent firefights with the Islamist insurgents that control much of southern and central Somalia

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Source:-Xinhua.

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