Bomb 'looks like al-Qaida attack'
The bomb attack that left several people dead in Kenya has all the hallmarks of an al-Qaida attack, an international terrorism expert said today.
The co-ordination of the two attacks bears telling similarities to previous incidents, said Professor Paul Wilkinson, of St Andrews University’s Department of International Relations this morning.
Prof Wilkinson cited the nightclub bombing in Bali and the bombs that exploded within hours near the US consulate at Denpasar, the capital of Bali, and at the Philippines Consulate in Sulawesi.
The simultaneous 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania, and the September 11 attacks in 2001 were also cited as evidence.
The fact that the attacks took place in Africa also adds to suspicions that al-Qaida was responsible, as the group has many times demonstrated its global reach, said Prof Wilkinson.
The incident can be seen as further evidence that there are very few areas in the world that can be considered safe from terrorism, warned the professor.
“The east African attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were really the first major terrorist incidents in that part of the world,” he said.
“That was a tremendous shock to international opinion generally because Kenya had been regarded as a place that was free of this kind of modern mass destructive type of terrorism. That view had to be revised in the light of those attacks.”
Al-Qaida cells could easily blend into the African community due to substantial numbers of Muslim communities there.
And he added: “We know from the investigation into the east African embassy bombings they had as their operatives people from that part of the world.”
Further evidence that points to al-Qaida is that it certainly regards Israel as a prime target, said Prof Wilkinson.
He cautioned that all these facts did not amount to conclusive proof, and that it was not inconceivable that the Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah was responsible.
“Hezbollah on occasion has used its overseas resource base to attack Israeli targets aboard,” he said.
“However, to my mind it doesn’t look likely. It’s more likely it was al-Qaida but there’s close collaboration between them and it might be a combined effort.”
But what authorities can be sure of is that “once again aviation and tourism are shown to be favoured targets”, said the professor.
“We must always be looking at ways terrorist groups can attack civil aviation,” he said.
