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Death toll from grenade attacks rises to seven

12 March 2012 21:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Death from Saturday night’s grenade attacks has risen to seven and 47 others are still hospitalized, a humanitarian agency said on Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) spokesperson Frederick Gori said one more casualty succumbed to injuries on Monday at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

"Death toll from Saturday night’s grenade attack has now risen to seven after one more person succumbed to injuries today. We have 47 people who are still admitted at the hospital while four others are missing," Gori told Xinhua by telephone on Monday.

He said some of the casualties who were admitted at the hospital on Saturday have since being treated and discharged as the relief agency provides support to those affected by the attack.

Gori’s remarks come as Al-Shabaab denied responsibility for the grenade attacks which rocked the Kenyan capital on Saturday.

In a statement received in Nairobi, the insurgents said the east African nation should not blame it for a wave of insecurity that was now sweeping across the country.

"Contrary to the specious allegations of the Kenyan government, Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen bears no responsibility whatsoever for the turbulence that reigns over the country," it said.

"The turmoil that is rapidly spreading across Kenya is in fact a monument to the grossly misguided foreign policies and misplaced priorities of the Kenyan government that seems to be under the delusion that it is waging a winnable war against Islam."

The militants vowed to take all necessary measures to counter and prevent the unwarranted violence perpetrated by the Kenyan government against the Muslims of Kenya.

According to Al-Shabaab, the "rampant insecurity that now prevails in the streets of Kenya, and the wave of public anxiety therein, conspicuously foreshadows the perilous turn of events ahead, if not portend the complete demise of the very notion of peace and stability that the Kenyan public had for many years enjoyed."

Unknown people hurled four grenades near the Country Bus Station in a speeding vehicle within a stretch of about 50 meters targeting commuters who were waiting to board buses at the busy station to travel to various parts of the east African nation.

Already the police are questioning four people in connection with the blast which has sent panic among Kenyans across the country.

National Security Minister Professor George Saitoti had said security agencies are pursuing leads to have the suspects, who hurled the four grenades, face justice, pointing blame on Al- Shabaab militants.

The Al-Shabaab fighters have been responsible for a string of foreigners’ abductions and grenade attacks that occurred late last year that led to the Kenyan troops’ pursuit of the militia group into Somalia.

Al-Shabaab is very angry with Kenya for sending troops into Somalia to attack its compounds and kill its fighters, but Nairobi said its military action in Somalia is only for self defense.

It blames Al-Shabaab for the recent kidnappings of four foreigners, and fears its tourist and business economy will be destroyed if it allows the insurgents to go on unchallenged.

The arrests come amid enhanced security within the capital and its environs as police have been deployed in various parts of the city to help curb insecurity and terror threats from neighboring Somalia.

The police have also called on Kenyans to be vigilant and report any suspicious individuals in their midst to security personnel.