11 die after car bomb and missile attacks on Israeli tourists

Twin attacks in Kenyan blamed on al-Qa'ida

An explosion rocked an Israeli-owned hotel near the Kenyan Indian Ocean resort of Mombasa today, killing at least 11 people and injuring 80, as, simultaneously, two missiles were fired at an Israeli airliner that had just left the city.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said two Israeli children were killed in the bombing at the Paradise Hotel. Abbas Gullet of the Kenyan Red Cross said seven of the dead were Kenyans and two were suspected suicide bombers. Most of the Kenyans were from a traditional dance group which was welcoming the Israeli tourists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Israel Army Radio said Israeli security officials were looking into the possibility that the attacks were carried out by al- Qa'ida.

The Kenyan ambassador to Israel said he had "no doubt" that al-Qa'ida was behind the double attacks on Israeli tourists.

A car crashed through a barrier outside the hotel and exploded near two coaches which were unloading Israeli tourists.

Aharon Hammel, who owns a hotel near the Paradise, told Israel Army Radio that the hotel was burned: "I can see the bodies of local residents. There is a lot of smoke. The whole hotel is burned totally, both wings, the lobby and everything, it's all burned."

A hotel guest, Dr. Nimrod Grissarov, said he had arrived this morning with a group from the Israeli town of Beersheba, with children celebrating a Bat Mitzva.

"I can tell you personally I treated three victims whom I would classify as moderately wounded ... they had head injuries, a kidney injury," he told Israeli Army Radio.

He said there were several people with limb injuries.

There were no injuries aboard the plane, belonging to the Arkia charter company, which carried 261 passengers and 10 crew members.

Mr Netanyahu said the apparent missile attack on the plane represented "a very dangerous escalation of terror."

"Today, they're firing the missiles at Israeli planes, tomorrow they'll fire missiles at American planes, British planes, every country's aircraft. Therefore, there can be no compromise with terror," he said.

It appeared that two missiles were fired at the plane which had just taken off from Mombasa airport. The pilot saw a flash of light on the left side of the plane, said an Arkia official, Shlomo Hanael.

The pilot initially prepared for an emergency landing at the Kenyan capital Nairobi, to check whether the plane was damaged, but after consultations with Israeli officials, it was decided to fly directly to Israel. The plane was not damaged.

Kenya was the scene of a terrorist attack blamed on al-Qa'ida in 1998, when a car bomb blast outside the US Embassy in Nairobi killed 219 people — including 12 Americans — and wounded 5,000.

A nearly simultaneous attack on the US Embassy in neighboring Tanzania killed 12 people and injured more than 80.