Kenya: blasts kill 1, hurt more than 20

MOMBASA: Two blasts in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa and a nearby town killed one person and wounded more than 20 on Saturday, the latest in a string of attacks to hit the east African country since it sent troops into neighbouring Somalia.

Up until now, attacks had centred on the capital, Nairobi, and near the border with Somalia following its deployment of troops last October. Saturday's blasts were the first in Mombasa, a popular holiday destination with locals and foreigners, since Kenya began its mission to fight rebels north of the border.

"This evening, between 7.30 and 8.00, there were two explosive devices, which were simultaneously thrown at two different places," Ernest Munyi, provincial commissioner for the coastal region, told Reuters.

"We are trying to find out exactly what type of explosives these were," he said.

He said one person died in an attack on an open air, roadside Christian meeting in Mtwapa, a town north of Mombasa renowned for its nightlife.

"A van came and stopped ... then we heard the explosion. Some lay on the ground, while others started to run," said Davidson Kahindi, a worshipper who was injured in the ear.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw blood splattered on the roadside, abandoned bibles and discarded clothes. Police with sniffer dogs combed the scene.

The Kenya Red Cross confirmed one person was killed in the Mtwapa attack. It said 24 people had been admitted to hospital, of whom two were in critical condition.

The second explosion was at a bar near Mombasa's main stadium, Commissioner Munyi said. (Reuters)