Kenya and Tanzania remember Al-Qaeda bomb attacks of 1998
Kenya and Tanzania today marked the 20th anniversary of devastating US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, which signalled Al-Qaeda's emergence as a deadly player on the global stage.
In Nairobi, a solemn ceremony reunited families of the victims and officials at a memorial park in the centre of the Kenyan capital, created on the site of the US embassy.
The diplomatic mission was devastated by a huge explosion on the morning of August 7, 1998, followed minutes later by another massive blast which wrecked the US embassy in Tanzania.
A total of 224 people were killed in the attacks and around 5,000 injured -- mostly African citizens.
"Twenty years ago today, evil showed its terrible face in Kenya and Tanzania," US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec told the Nairobi gathering.
"In the middle of a busy Friday morning, Al-Qaeda terrorists exploded bombs outside the US embassies here in Nairobi and in Dar es Salaam."
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