Kenyan hotel bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2002 Mombasa attacks refer to an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane belonging to an Israeli airline in Mombasa
, Kenya
that were targeted on 28 November 2002. A red all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hotel and blew up when it hit the lobby. Also two surface-to-air missile
s were fired at an Israel
i charter plane, but they missed. Mombasa, on Kenya's Indian Ocean
coast, is a popular destination for foreign visitors and the hotel was frequented mainly by Israeli tourists. Paradise Hotel was the only Israeli-owned hotel in the Mombasa area.
is, two of whom were children. In an overnight operation that went on into the early hours, four Israeli military Hercules planes with teams of doctors and psychologists flew into Mombasa and evacuated injured Israeli tourists and all those who wanted to leave.
Almost simultaneously, two shoulder-launched Strela 2
(SA-7) surface-to-air missiles were fired at another chartered Boeing 757
airliner
owned by Israel-based Arkia Airlines as it took off from Moi
International Airport. The Arkia charter company had a regular weekly service flying tourists between Tel Aviv and Mombasa.
Kenyan police discovered a missile launcher and two missile casings in the Changamwe area of Mombasa, about two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the airport.
uses an infrared countermeasure system - once used by the British military in Northern Ireland - that interferes with the SAM's seeker system, making it less accurate. It is not known whether such a system was used on the Arkia flight. However Arkia had a contract with the Israeli government, and one of its two Boeing 757 planes had earlier that year flown Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
to Washington
. It is not known if this plane in Kenya was the same plane that transported Ariel Sharon, but it has been speculated that there could have been "some sort of antimissile technology aboard the plane". Reports from passengers tended to confirm the idea that some sort of antimissile defence system had been deployed; eyewitnesses reported seeing a small explosion above one of the plane's wings, suggesting that decoy flares had been fired.
The pilots planned on an emergency landing in Nairobi
after seeing the two missiles streak past them, but decided to continue to Israel. The airliner landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
about five hours later, escorted by Israeli F-15 fighter jets.
-based Islam
ic organisation Al Muhajiroun, said that warnings had appeared on the Internet
. “Militant groups who sympathise with Al-Qaeda warned one week ago that there would be an attack on Kenya and they mentioned Israelis,” he said.
The Australia
n government issued a warning of a "possible risk of terrorist attacks against sites in Kenya, particularly in Nairobi and Mombasa" two weeks prior to the bombing. It advised Australian tourists to defer all non-essential travel to Mombasa, and those who were already there were told that they should leave. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the information came from British intelligence sources and was said to have been passed on to other governments, including Israel, as a matter of course. Germany
, which also received the warning, took it seriously enough to warn its citizens.
Initially, Israeli government spokesmen denied that such a warning had been received. But four days after the blast, Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser admitted that Israeli military intelligence were aware of a threat in Kenya, but that it was not specific enough. Former Mossad
head Danny Yatom
took a similar line, saying that Israel got so many terror warnings they were not taken seriously.
, a previously unknown group called the Army of Palestine has said it carried out the attacks and said it wanted the world to hear the "voice of the refugees" on the 55th anniversary of the partition of Palestine. The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine of 29 November 1947 called for the division of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Palestinians and other Arabs did not accept the partition.
Washington condemned the attacks: "Today's attacks underscore the continuing willingness of those opposed to peace to commit horrible crimes," President George W Bush said "The United States remains firmly committed, with its partners around the world, to the fight against terror and those who commit these heinous acts. "Bush urged all "those who seek peace... to dismantle the infrastructure of terror".
, told the Somaliland Times that the US was asking for the assistance of the Islamic Courts Union in apprehending suspects in attacks on East African embassies in 1998
and the Paradise Hotel in Kenya in 2002. She listed the following individuals by name and nationality:
On 20 December 2006, Salad Ali Jelle
, Defence Minister of Somalia
's Transitional Federal Government
, said that one of Washington's suspects, Abu Taha al-Sudan
, was an Islamic Courts Union leader fighting against the Transitional Federal Government in the 2006 Battle of Baidoa
.
adopted Resolution 1450
condemning the attacks. – Israel's Foreign Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called the attacks a "grave escalation of terror against Israel". – The Kenyan government described the attacks as "senseless terrorism" against Israeli interests. It also condemned the perpetrators for using Kenyan soil to carry out their activities. – UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
expressed his "utter condemnation" of a suicide bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya. – Secretary of State
Colin Powell
said "We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist bombing earlier today in the Paradise Hotel near Mombasa Kenya that killed at least eleven and wounded dozens -- both Kenyans and Israelis. We also condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist shooting at a polling station in Beit Shean in which three Israelis were killed and many more injured."
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
that were targeted on 28 November 2002. A red all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hotel and blew up when it hit the lobby. Also two surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
s were fired at an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i charter plane, but they missed. Mombasa, on Kenya's Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
coast, is a popular destination for foreign visitors and the hotel was frequented mainly by Israeli tourists. Paradise Hotel was the only Israeli-owned hotel in the Mombasa area.
Hotel bombing
The blast occurred just after some 60 visitors had checked into the hotel, all of them from Israel, hotel officials said. 13 were killed and 80 injured . Ten Kenyans died, nine of whom were employed by the hotel, most of them were said to be traditional dancers who came to welcome the 140 guests arriving from Israel by state-chartered jet and three IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is, two of whom were children. In an overnight operation that went on into the early hours, four Israeli military Hercules planes with teams of doctors and psychologists flew into Mombasa and evacuated injured Israeli tourists and all those who wanted to leave.
Plane attack
Strela 2
The 9K32 “Strela-2” is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance...
(SA-7) surface-to-air missiles were fired at another chartered Boeing 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
owned by Israel-based Arkia Airlines as it took off from Moi
Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
International Airport. The Arkia charter company had a regular weekly service flying tourists between Tel Aviv and Mombasa.
Kenyan police discovered a missile launcher and two missile casings in the Changamwe area of Mombasa, about two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the airport.
Countermeasures
It is believed that Israeli airline El AlEl Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
uses an infrared countermeasure system - once used by the British military in Northern Ireland - that interferes with the SAM's seeker system, making it less accurate. It is not known whether such a system was used on the Arkia flight. However Arkia had a contract with the Israeli government, and one of its two Boeing 757 planes had earlier that year flown Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. It is not known if this plane in Kenya was the same plane that transported Ariel Sharon, but it has been speculated that there could have been "some sort of antimissile technology aboard the plane". Reports from passengers tended to confirm the idea that some sort of antimissile defence system had been deployed; eyewitnesses reported seeing a small explosion above one of the plane's wings, suggesting that decoy flares had been fired.
The pilots planned on an emergency landing in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
after seeing the two missiles streak past them, but decided to continue to Israel. The airliner landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
about five hours later, escorted by Israeli F-15 fighter jets.
Forewarnings
Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, leader of the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic organisation Al Muhajiroun, said that warnings had appeared on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. “Militant groups who sympathise with Al-Qaeda warned one week ago that there would be an attack on Kenya and they mentioned Israelis,” he said.
The Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n government issued a warning of a "possible risk of terrorist attacks against sites in Kenya, particularly in Nairobi and Mombasa" two weeks prior to the bombing. It advised Australian tourists to defer all non-essential travel to Mombasa, and those who were already there were told that they should leave. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the information came from British intelligence sources and was said to have been passed on to other governments, including Israel, as a matter of course. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which also received the warning, took it seriously enough to warn its citizens.
Initially, Israeli government spokesmen denied that such a warning had been received. But four days after the blast, Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser admitted that Israeli military intelligence were aware of a threat in Kenya, but that it was not specific enough. Former Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
head Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Labour. Before that he was a Director of the Mossad security service.-Background:...
took a similar line, saying that Israel got so many terror warnings they were not taken seriously.
Lebanese group take responsibility
In LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, a previously unknown group called the Army of Palestine has said it carried out the attacks and said it wanted the world to hear the "voice of the refugees" on the 55th anniversary of the partition of Palestine. The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine of 29 November 1947 called for the division of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Palestinians and other Arabs did not accept the partition.
Washington condemned the attacks: "Today's attacks underscore the continuing willingness of those opposed to peace to commit horrible crimes," President George W Bush said "The United States remains firmly committed, with its partners around the world, to the fight against terror and those who commit these heinous acts. "Bush urged all "those who seek peace... to dismantle the infrastructure of terror".
Named suspects
On June 22, 2006, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi FrazerJendayi Frazer
Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, heading the Bureau of African Affairs. She currently serves as a Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and Department of Social and Decision...
, told the Somaliland Times that the US was asking for the assistance of the Islamic Courts Union in apprehending suspects in attacks on East African embassies in 1998
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...
and the Paradise Hotel in Kenya in 2002. She listed the following individuals by name and nationality:
- Fazul Abdullah Mohamed, Comoros
- Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, Kenya
- Abu Taha al-SudanAbu Taha al-SudanAbu Taha Al-Sudan was a suspected member of Al Qaeda terrorist organization, reported to be an explosives expert....
, Sudan
On 20 December 2006, Salad Ali Jelle
Salad Ali Jelle
Salad Ali Jelle is the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia. He was a political figure in the War in Somalia fought between the TFG and its ally Ethiopia against the Islamic Courts Union .On January 5, 2007, after the victory over the ICU...
, Defence Minister of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
's Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
, said that one of Washington's suspects, Abu Taha al-Sudan
Abu Taha al-Sudan
Abu Taha Al-Sudan was a suspected member of Al Qaeda terrorist organization, reported to be an explosives expert....
, was an Islamic Courts Union leader fighting against the Transitional Federal Government in the 2006 Battle of Baidoa
Battle of Baidoa
The Battle of Baidoa began on December 20, 2006 when the Somali Transitional Federal Government's forces allied with Ethiopian forces stationed there attacked advancing Islamic Courts Union forces along with 500 alleged Eritrean troops and mujahideen arrayed against them.The battle began with...
.
Efforts to counter proliferation of missiles
Since the failed airliner attacks efforts to counter proliferation of shoulder-fired missile (MANPADS) through the elimination of excess or illicit stocks became a priority of the U.S. Government—a priority that was reinforced by the 2003 FBI sting operation in Newark and attacks on aircraft in Iraq.Reactions
– The United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
adopted Resolution 1450
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1450
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1450, adopted on December 13, 2002, after reaffirming the principles of the United Nations Charter and resolutions 1189 , 1269 , 1368 and 1373 , the Council condemned the attacks on Israeli targets in Kikambala and Mombasa, Kenya on November 28, 2002.The...
condemning the attacks. – Israel's Foreign Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called the attacks a "grave escalation of terror against Israel". – The Kenyan government described the attacks as "senseless terrorism" against Israeli interests. It also condemned the perpetrators for using Kenyan soil to carry out their activities. – UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
expressed his "utter condemnation" of a suicide bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya. – Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
said "We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist bombing earlier today in the Paradise Hotel near Mombasa Kenya that killed at least eleven and wounded dozens -- both Kenyans and Israelis. We also condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist shooting at a polling station in Beit Shean in which three Israelis were killed and many more injured."
External links
- After Blast, Kenya Reviews Qaeda's Trail in East Africa, The New York Times, December 1, 2002
- ATTACKS IN MOMBASA: Kenyans Hunting for Clues; Bombing Toll Rises to 13, The New York Times, November 30, 2002
- THE GRIEVERS: Israelis Return in Trauma From Supposed Haven, The New York Times, November 30, 2002
- INVESTIGATION: U.S. Suspects Qaeda Link to Bombing in Mombasa, The New York Times, November 30, 2002
- Source of Bombs? Kenyans Look North, The New York Times, November 30, 2002
- AT THE SITE: Survivor Saw Bombers' Race to Death, The New York Times, November 30, 2002
- US Seeks Islamic Courts’ Help To Catch Somali Extremists, Somaliland Times, June 22, 2006