NAIROBI,   Kenya, September 28, 2007 -   Somali-based Islamic extremists may try to kidnap American citizens in northern Kenya's beach resorts, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

"There are indications that Islamic extremists based in Somalia may be planning to target Westerners, especially American citizens, in the Kiwayu Island tourist area and other beach sites frequented by Western travelers on the northeast coast near Somalia," the embassy, which is also responsible for Somalia, said in an e-mail message to U.S. citizens.

Kenya shares a 675-kilometer (400-mile) border with Somalia, which is currently closed. Much of the border area is sparsely populated desert with few checkpoints or military patrols.

Islamic fighters with alleged links to the al-Qaida terror network had conquered much of southern Somalia, then were overthrown last December by Ethiopian troops supporting the weak U.N.-backed government. They vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency and the transitional government and its Ethiopian allies come under daily attack in the capital of Mogadishu.

Kenya , one of Africa's main tourist draws, is relatively peaceful. But in 1998, the U.S. embassy here and in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were simultaneously hit, killing 225 people in an attack blamed on al-Qaida.

Source: AP

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