Six Pakistanis, four Somalis among suspects in attacks

MOMBASA, Kenya -- With Israeli and American authorities casting suspicion on al-Qaida or its allies, Kenyan authorities investigating the twin assaults on Israeli targets there focused quickly on foreign suspects, reporting Friday they had arrested six Pakistanis, four Somalis, an American and a Spaniard.

Al-Qaida carried out almost simultaneous bombings to the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 that killed 231 people -- including 12 Americans -- and injured about 5,000.

Police spokesman King'ori Mwangi said police picked up nine of the foreigners on an Indian Ocean beach in the Mombasa area Friday morning. He declined to say if those suspects were attempting to leave the country by boat.

Mwangi also said all but two of the suspects in custody were traveling on what he termed "suspicious" passports, perhaps alluding to Somalia where it is possible to obtain a travel document in less than an hour. The lawless country has not had a functioning government for more than a decade and is believed to be a refuge for some al-Qaida operatives.

Missiles missed jet

Two shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles were launched against an Israeli charter jet leaving Mombasa airport Thursday morning, narrowly missing the Arkia Airlines Boeing 757 with 261 passengers and 10 crew members. It landed safely in Tel Aviv with no casualties.

A few minutes later a vehicle packed with explosives broke through the gate at the oceanside Paradise Hotel. One attacker ran into the lobby and blew himself up, while two others exploded the vehicle. The bombs killed 10 Kenyans, three Israelis and the three bombers.

President Daniel arap Moi visited the shell of the destroyed hotel Friday and bemoaned that his country had again been caught in the middle of global terrorism.

Citizens echoed their president's frustration.

"The Kenyans died instantly; the only thing wrong they did was to go to work ... all these people are fighting their enemies in my country," said Daniel Mbui, a janitor at another resort hotel. "It's not Kenyans who were intended to be killed; this suffering was not for us."

The American woman and a Spanish man were taken into custody about 90 minutes after the bombing Thursday, but may have mistakenly been caught in the police dragnet, sources close to the investigation said.