Nairobi church attack

Kenyan police say a grenade attack at a church in the capital, Nairobi, on Sunday has killed at least one person and injured several others.

"We have one fatality, and there are more than ten others who have been injured," area deputy police chief Joseph Gichangi said.

He added that the person who threw the grenade had been part of the congregation at the God's House of Miracle Church, which officials say is in the working-class Ngara district of the city. He said the man fled immediately after carrying out the attack.

The Kenya Red Cross said 15 people were wounded in the blast, five critically.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks that Kenyan police blame on Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab Islamists or their sympathizers. They claim the attacks are a response to Kenya sending troops into neighboring Somalia in October last year.

The deadliest blast struck a bus terminal on March 10, killing nine people and injuring around 60 others.

Sunday's explosion follows a US embassy warning that there could soon be an attack on prominent government buildings and hotels in Nairobi. The embassy said on Monday that it did not know when the attack would take place, but that it believed plans were at an advanced stage.

Al-Shebab militants from Somalia have vowed to carry out a major attack as retribution for Kenya deploying soldiers to their country.

Nairobisent the troops in response to a spate of kidnappings in Kenya that it blamed on the Islamists, who control much of the south and central region of Somalia.

tj/mz (AFP, AP, Reuters)