Death toll from Nairobi bus bombing rises to 6, suspect sought

[News_Editor]

NAIROBI, KENYA (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll from a blast on board a passenger bus in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi has risen to six after two gravely wounded people succumbed to their injuries, police said on Sunday as they launched a manhunt for a man believed to be responsible.

The attack occurred at around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday on a road near Eastleigh, a suburb of Nairobi that is sometimes called "Little Mogadishu" because it is predominantly inhabited by Somali immigrants. It was initially believed the blast was caused by a hand grenade, but investigators now believe a bomb was left behind in the 32-seat bus.

"From the outset it looks like this was not a grenade attack but an improvised explosive device (IED)," said Inspector General David Kimaiyo of the National Police Service. "This incident is unfortunate and highlights the fact that Kenya is still at war with extremism and al-Shabaab forces."

The death toll from the bombing increased to six overnight after two gravely wounded people succumbed to their injuries, Nairobi's police chief said. At least 34 others were injured, most of whom remained in hospital on Sunday, and several of them are believed to remain in a serious or critical condition.

The driver and some of the passengers reported seeing a young man exit the bus just before the bomb exploded, leading investigators to believe the bomb was remotely detonated. Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Hussein Nur Mohamed, a man of Somali origin who had been arrested on terrorism charges earlier this year but failed to appear in court.

A police spokesman said a second warrant for Mohamed's arrest had been issued on Sunday. Investigators were also continuing to look into a man who was detained at the scene of Saturday's attack, but no charges had been filed against him as of late Sunday. He was reportedly assisting police in their investigation.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, but the Eastleigh area has in the past suffered from other attacks that were blamed on the Somali militant group al-Shabaab. The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing 67 people.

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