Islamic leaders urge government to deny US military support

Islamic religious leaders in Mombasa on Thursday urged the Kenyan government to deny the US use of Kenyan bases for operations against those held responsible for the 11 September terror attacks on New York and Washington, AFP reported. "The government's pledge to support American military operations against the terrorists might put our country into a precarious situation that concerns us," the chairman of the Kenya Council of Imams, Sheikh Ali Shee was quoted as saying. "Kenya will be an easy target for the terrorists again," he warned.

The port of Mombasa could be used as a base for possible US air strikes against Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 11 September attacks, is widely thought to be based. Kenyan Foreign Minister Chris Obure on 20 September, however, denied reports that the government had offered the US logistical support in its anti-terror campaign. Following bomb attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in August 1998 in which 224 people were killed, the US launched cruise missiles against targets inside Afghanistan and Sudan.