News

USIS Washington 
File

07 August 1998

PICKERING: DUAL EMBASSY BOMBING ATTACKS ARE UNPRECEDENTED

(US flying disaster aid relief to Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam) (550)

By Jane A. Morse

USIA Diplomatic Correspondent



Washington -- The dual attacks on the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya
and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania are unprecedented, according to Thomas
Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.


"This, in terms of our quick recollection, is the only circumstance we
know of where there were coordinated attacks in different countries
against American embassies," he said at a late afternoon press
briefing at the State Department August 7.


The massive explosions occurred within five minutes of each other in
the morning hours of August 7 -- 10:40 a.m. local time (3:40 a.m. EDT)
in Dar-es- Salaam and 10:45 a.m. local time (3:45 a.m. EDT) in
Nairobi.


There were no advance warnings or threats to either of the US
Embassies, Pickering said. He did note, however, that US embassies
around the world get a total of some 30,000 threats per year, all of
which are considered seriously, he said.


Pickering declined to speculate on who was responsible for the
bombings, nor did he confirm press reports that the explosions were
the results of car bombs.


He did confirm that there appears to have been just a single massive
explosion at each site.


American casualties were limited to Nairobi. According to Susan Rice,
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, eight official
American personnel are confirmed dead, six are missing and unaccounted
for, and 14 are in hospitals.


In Dar-es-Salaam, five foreign nationals employed by the US Embassy
were killed, Pickering said.


"Given the great damage, casualty figures are necessarily still
tentative," he pointed out.


Patrick Kennedy, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, told
reporters after the briefing that 167 Americans work for the US
Embassy in Nairobi plus several hundred foreign nationals. In
Dar-es-Salaam, 42 Americans are employed along with some 100 foreign
nationals, he said.


Pickering noted that the State Department is coordinating the US
government response through a department task force. Two special teams
have already been dispatched for Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam.


A US military C-141 departed Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany with
members of an interagency disaster response team which will provide
medical assistance, Pickering said. And a second Air Force C-141
departed from Andrews Air Force Base at the afternoon of August 7
carrying additional medical supplies and US personnel to assist in
recovery operations, he said.


In addition, a number of other flights are departing the United States
and South Africa, Pickering said. These flights are carrying medical
supplies and personnel and additional disaster response team members,
who will provide for embassy security and begin evidence recovery
efforts, he said. There is a special flight coming from the Middle
East to provide additional security to the embassies concerned, he
added.


According to Deputy State Department Spokesman James Foley, Secretary
of State Albright is expected back in Washington late the night of
August 7. Her plans are to confer with the State Department Task Force
set up to deal with the crisis immediately upon her arrival. She is
also scheduled to confer with senior advisers and members of President
Clinton's national security team, Foley said.