Mon December 2, 2002 12:34 AM ET
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MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - U.S. President George Bush is expected to hold security talks this week with the leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia after twin attacks in Mombasa thrust East Africa into the spotlight of Washington's war on terror.
The United States warned of more attacks in the Horn of Africa after a suicide bombing killed 16 people at an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa on Thursday and two missiles missed a plane taking off with Israeli tourists from a nearby airport.
A Kenyan official said on Sunday President Daniel arap Moi's visit had been scheduled before the nearly simultaneous attacks but did not say when Moi would meet Bush.
The Kenya Times newspaper reported that Moi was due to fly to London on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, before proceeding to Washington to meet Bush on Thursday.
Moi's office was not available to confirm his schedule.
Diplomats in the region said they expected Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to join Moi and Bush for talks in Washington. Zenawi's visit has not been officially announced.
A diplomat said Moi's talks had been due to focus on security even before the attacks.
Experts have called Africa a blind spot in Bush's declared war on terrorism -- with unrest, poverty and lax security creating breeding grounds for the international guerrillas of radical Islam.
East Africa is a magnet for tourists because of its wildlife and fine beaches and offers an array of easy targets frequented by Western holidaymakers.
SIMILAR ATTACKS
Washington says it has received information that similar attacks may be launched in the tiny nation of Djibouti, which borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Pentagon is establishing a command center in Djibouti as it increases the number of U.S. troops in the Horn of Africa to 1,200 from 800 to hunt down militant groups. Many of the troops are elite special forces or Marines.
U.S. officials suspect Thursday's attacks were the work of the Somali-based Al-Itihad al-Islamiya group, which they say has links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Al Qaeda has been the target of the Bush's "war on terrorism" since last year's September 11 attacks on the United States. The group is also widely suspected of the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed 224 people.
Kenyan police have held six Pakistanis and four Somalis for questioning since Thursday's attacks but say they have found no links to al Qaeda or to al-Itihad.
Israel says al Qaeda is the prime suspect and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered the Mossad spy agency to hunt down those responsible.
Kenyan and Israeli investigators at the bomb scene recovered an Ak-47 assault rifle on Sunday, Kenya's KTN television reported on Sunday.
It said the explosives-laden Pajero vehicle that was rammed into the Paradise hotel had been sold by a foreigner to a Kenyan woman in 1998. Police were looking for the woman to find out how the vehicle ended up in the hands of the bombers.
William Langat, a senior Kenyan police officer involved in the probe, said Kenya was still considering an Israeli request to turn over some evidence in the attacks.
"We've got everything. There is nothing they have taken. They have made a request to take some of the exhibits back home for forensic examination. It will be decided in due course," Langat told Reuters.
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