NAIROBI, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A suspected bomber died in the northern Kenyan town of Garissa Wednesday night after an explosive device he was assembling exploded near a local hospital.
Regional police commander Charlton Mureithi said the suspect, yet to be identified but of Somali origin, was planting an improvised explosive device (IED) on the roadside near the local Provincial General Hospital when it went off.
"We heard the explosion at around 9 pm on Wednesday night. The explosion could have caused massive deaths and destruction because it was being planted on a busy road. The impact was huge," Mureithi said.
According to the locals, the body parts of the suspect were strewn around the scene.
The road is usually busy and used by many motorists, including security agents, who are now key targets of grenade and terror attacks.
"I don't know what could have been happened if the bomber succeeded in assembling the device," police said.
Mureithi urged residents, who have been living in fear due to increasing attacks in the region, to assist security personnel in fighting terrorism by reporting suspicious activities.
The incident comes barely a week after some 60 Al-Shabaab militiamen attacked two police camps near the border with Somalia, killing five people, two of them police officers, and also kidnapping two others.
In March, two bombers died as the IED they were planting exploded on them at the Garissa primary schoolgrounds. The venue was set to host a presidential candidate in the May 4 general elections.
Security in northeastern Kenya has been deteriorating since Kenyan troops entered Somalia in late 2011 to fight the Somali militia following a series of kidnappings and attacks on Kenyan soil.
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