1 killed, 2 injured in twin blasts in northern Kenya

At least one person was killed and two others injured Wednesday evening in twin explosions in Kenya's northern county of Wajir. Divisional Police Commander Isaiah Odhiambo said unknown assailants hurled grenades at a crowd of people at a local shopping center in Wajir town, causing the casualties and fled immediately after the attack. "Unknown criminals hurled explosive devices at the crowd of people in Wajir town at around 7:30 p.m. (local time), injuring three people whom we have rushed to the hospital. The attackers fled immediately after hurling the explosives," Odhiambo said on telephone. He said the motive of the attack has not been established and that investigations have been launched. Wajir County Commissioner David Kirui, "There is now a lot of tension in Wajir. The police are pursuing the criminals who injured three people this evening. We will catch up with them," Kirui told Xinhua on telephone. The incident comes after Al-Qaida linked Somali militants stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi on Saturday, killing over 60 people and injuring at least 175 others. In another development, Al-Shabaab commander Ahmed Abdi Godani on Wednesday described the mall attack as a "message" to the West for backing Kenya's military intervention in Somalia. The Somalia-base group has vowed more attacks in retaliation for Kenya's incursion launched in October 2011 into the Horn of Africa nation in pursuit of Shabaab fighters, who were held responsible for attacks and kidnappings in Kenya. A series of attacks linked to Al-Shabaab have recently hit Kenya's northern areas close to the border with Somalia, including Mandera,Wajir, Garissa and Dadaab.