The Nation (Nairobi) March 23, 2006 - Nation Correspondent Nairobi

A suspect linked to the November 2002 Kikambala bombing was accidentally killed by a bomb he was assembling in Somalia, police sources said yesterday.

Mr Issa Osman Issa, who was born in Mombasa, died last week.

"He did not intend to kill himself as had earlier been assumed," said the highly-placed source.

According to the police, the bomb was to be used in an attack on Somalia Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Ghedi. Mr Ghedi has survived two assassination attempts in the past.

It is believed that Mr Issa was assembling the bomb in the presence of some recruits but it is not known if any of them also died in the blast. The bomb went off in the heart of Mogadishu where the group had rented an apartment.

Mr Issa was a member of Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya, a terrorist group with direct links to al-Qaeda. It supports the creation of Islamic courts which are opposed to the formation of a secular government in Somalia.

The suspect is thought to have played a key role in the Kikambala bombing of the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel. Fifteen people died in the attack.

On the same day, a missile was also fired at an Israeli passenger jet as it left the Moi International Airport in Mombasa but it missed the target.