kymnjoro
Elder Lister
August 7 1998.
It was a day like today. The American Embassy in Nairobi had been hit. Later we were to learn that another attack had been targeted at the American Embassy in Tanzania.
Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda idiots claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack that left millions - if not billions - worth of damage, injuries and deaths.
The nation was affected and devastated. We heard of Ambassador Prudence Bushnell and Minister J. J Kamotho who had been holed up in a meeting. The Israelis sent us sniffer dogs to help in the search and rescue. Our own emergency teams, military and police had been pushed to the limits.
The then President Daniel Moi visited the scene and we wondered what if a charge had been slow to detonate. But we were assured that the blast had been so big, not a gram of explosive could have failed to go off.
Osama's revenge attack, because that's what it was, involved a 900kg pack of TNT, ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder and detonating cord on a truck that was set off by suicide bombers in Nairobi.
When the dust had all gone down, screams and ambulance sirens gone silent, 224 were left dead (213 in Nairobi and 11 in Daresalaam) and +4,000 were left with injuries.
”The explosion damaged the embassy building and collapsed the neighboring Ufundi Building where most victims were killed, mainly students and staff of a secretarial college housed here. The heat from the blast was channeled between the buildings towards Haile Selassie Avenue where a packed commuter bus was burned.
"Windows were shattered in a radius of nearly ½ mile (800 m). A large number of eye injuries occurred because people in buildings nearby who had heard the first explosion of the hand grenade and the shooting went to their office windows to have a look when the main blast occurred and shattered the windows"
26 years later, today we remember and honour all who died or were injured. We remember their families, friends and colleagues. To everyone who suffered that day: you are in our hearts, minds, and prayers.
Equally we celebrate the selfless individuals who too part in the search and rescue.
It was a day like today. The American Embassy in Nairobi had been hit. Later we were to learn that another attack had been targeted at the American Embassy in Tanzania.
Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda idiots claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack that left millions - if not billions - worth of damage, injuries and deaths.
The nation was affected and devastated. We heard of Ambassador Prudence Bushnell and Minister J. J Kamotho who had been holed up in a meeting. The Israelis sent us sniffer dogs to help in the search and rescue. Our own emergency teams, military and police had been pushed to the limits.
The then President Daniel Moi visited the scene and we wondered what if a charge had been slow to detonate. But we were assured that the blast had been so big, not a gram of explosive could have failed to go off.
Osama's revenge attack, because that's what it was, involved a 900kg pack of TNT, ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder and detonating cord on a truck that was set off by suicide bombers in Nairobi.
When the dust had all gone down, screams and ambulance sirens gone silent, 224 were left dead (213 in Nairobi and 11 in Daresalaam) and +4,000 were left with injuries.
”The explosion damaged the embassy building and collapsed the neighboring Ufundi Building where most victims were killed, mainly students and staff of a secretarial college housed here. The heat from the blast was channeled between the buildings towards Haile Selassie Avenue where a packed commuter bus was burned.
"Windows were shattered in a radius of nearly ½ mile (800 m). A large number of eye injuries occurred because people in buildings nearby who had heard the first explosion of the hand grenade and the shooting went to their office windows to have a look when the main blast occurred and shattered the windows"
26 years later, today we remember and honour all who died or were injured. We remember their families, friends and colleagues. To everyone who suffered that day: you are in our hearts, minds, and prayers.
Equally we celebrate the selfless individuals who too part in the search and rescue.