Tanzania:
Eight people were wounded late Monday when unknown attackers hurled a bomb
through the window of a restaurant popular with foreigners and wealthy locals
in the north Tanzanian town of Arusha.
"No one died, but eight people were wounded, one
is in a serious condition," Tanzania Director of criminal Investigation (DCI)Isaya
Mngulu .
"It was
an improvised explosive device thrown through a window."
All the
wounded, who included two children, were Tanzanians, according to the police
chief.
The floor of
the upmarket Indian restaurant in the
centre of Arusha was covered in blood, with overturned chairs amid broken
glass, an eye witness said.
No one has
claimed responsibility, but two Tanzanian nationals were arrested following the
attack, Mr Mngulu said, giving no further details.
The bombing
targeted a key town for Tanzania's tourist industry, a major source of foreign
currency for the East African country.
Visitors
come to Arusha before travelling on to the iconic snowcapped peak of Mount
Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, as well as to the Serengeti national
park, famed for its spectacular great migration of wildebeest.
A political rally
Somalia's
Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab have carried out attacks across East Africa,
especially targeting Kenya in wave of bombings and killings, but Tanzanian
police said they did not believe the extremists were to blame for the Arusha
blast.
"We do
not know who the attackers are, but we do not suspect any involvement with
Al-Shabaab," Mr Mngulu said.
Unlike
Kenya, Tanzania does not have troops fighting against the Al-Shabaab with the
African Union force in Somalia.
The attack
is the latest of several in Arusha.
On July 3,
two people were wounded when an improvised bomb was hurled into the home of
leading Muslim cleric in Arusha, Mr Mngulu said.
Police
arrested six people, all Tanzanians, following that attack.
Three people
were killed and 60 wounded in June 2013 in Arusha when a grenade was hurled
into a political rally by an opposition party.
A month
before, attackers killed three and wounded 30 when an improvised bomb exploded
in a Cat
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