News / Africa

1 Killed in Nairobi Blast Ahead of Clinton Visit

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VOA News
An explosion in Kenya's capital Friday killed one person, a day before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to visit the city.

A VOA reporter says the blast was the result of a failed grenade attack outside the gates of a Kenya Air Force base.  

A witness said the attacker tried to throw a grenade at two soldiers from a moving car, but that the grenade blew up before he could release it.  The attacker was apparently the only person killed.  

The air base is located in Nairobi's Eastleigh neighborhood, known for its large number of Somali immigrants.

Somalia is expected to be one of the topics when Clinton meets in Nairobi Saturday with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Kenya is one of several African nations with troops in Somalia fighting militant group al-Shabab.

Kenya has suffered through a series of deadly grenade attacks that authorities largely blame on al-Shabab sympathizers.  

Kenyan troops entered Somalia last October, following a series of cross-border kidnappings.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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