An official investigating yesterdays bomb attack in Nairobi told Associated Press today that a fertiliser bomb could have caused the blast. The official who spoke under conditions of anonymity, said that the smell of ammonia at the scene suggested a fertiliser bomb which is commonly made from ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

A team of three FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents who have been in the country for some weeks, combed through the debris yesterday collecting sample for analysis.They are thought to be assisting the Kenya anti-terrorism force. In a separate report CapitalFM claimed the presence of ‘foreign sleuths’ joining in the Moi Avenue probe although it is not clear whether these were in addition to the FBI team.

Nairobi bombing: reports of al-Shabaab involvement

Meanwhile TheStripes.com report that the blast was thought to be the work of Somalia’s Al-Qaida linked al-Shabaab insurgents.

News24 reports that the intelligence firm IntelCentre said militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Somali group al-Shabaab bragged about acting as journalists and conducting interviews of survivors after the blast. IntelCentre said the development poses significant challenges to security forces and legitimate members of the media covering attacks.

An unnamed doctor attending the injured said that another patient he was treating had also seen an Somali-looking man leaving a bag behind prior to the blast. This seems to back up Irene Wachira’s story yesterday from her hospital bed that ‘a bearded man came to a nearby stall three times and acted as if he were interested in buying something’. Wachira said the third time he came with a bag that he left behind. The blast occurred shortly afterward.

Despite some serious injuries no one has died as a result of the attack.