Kenya gets US anti-terror funds

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The US government has announced new funding to Kenya's security forces aimed at countering "terrorist activities" in the Horn of Africa.

The US administration will provide $14m-worth of training and equipment.

Kenya is a close US ally in the region - several terror suspects have been arrested in Kenya and sent to Somalia or Ethiopia for questioning.

The US blames terror attacks in Kenya on al-Qaeda operatives it says have been hiding in Somalia.

Last month, Kenyan Security Minister John Michuki held talks with US officials in Washington on fighting terrorism.

Guantanamo Bay

A statement from the US embassy in Nairobi says some of the money will be used to construct a maritime security camp, boost coastline patrols and set up a cyber forensic laboratory.

The US government has been pushing Kenya to enact and anti-terrorism law and boost its efforts to crack down on drug trafficking.

Kenya has twice been attacked by Islamist radicalsBut a draft law which gives the security minister powers to declare an individual or organisation a terrorist, was shelved by parliament after Muslim groups said it violated the rights of Kenyans.

Last month, a Kenyan Abdulmalik Mohammed was moved to Guantanamo Bay camp after he was handed over to the US following his arrest in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

US officials say Mr Mohammed had confessed to having taken part in the 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa.

But Islamic leaders accuse the government of working with the US to persecute Muslims.

Some 250 people were killed in Nairobi in 1998 during simultaneous attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The US says Islamists who controlled much of southern Somalia last year were sheltering al-Qaeda operatives, responsible for these and the 2002 Mombasa attacks.

The Islamists have been driven from power, with the US and Ethiopia helping Somali government troops.