Terror Aims for Soft Spots

The death toll in Kenya last week was comparatively low, and hundreds of would-be terror victims aboard a commercial jet were spared. But the resort location, the targeting of Israelis abroad and close coordination of two attacks gave the world a new fright.

U.S. and Israeli investigators worked through the weekend with their Kenyan counterparts, looking for answers. Going by what is publicly known, it could be a long haul to find out who masterminded Thursday’s suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel outside Mombasa and the shooting of shoulder-launched missiles that brushed past an Israeli jetliner carrying tourists from the Mombasa airport to Tel Aviv.

Kenyan police said Sunday that two pieces of metal found in the debris of the hotel, where three Israeli tourists and 10 Kenyans died, were fragments of a bomb and contained marks that might be traceable. Kenyan investigators would profit from letting Israel or the U.S. use their more sophisticated equipment to analyze the fragments.

Israeli investigators strongly suspect Al Qaeda, although “there is no concrete evidence.” More is at stake in finding that elusive evidence than just solving a crime. An Israeli expert called the twin, closely timed attacks an alarming “evolution of terrorism.” Many Soviet-made missiles of the type used in Mombasa are available on the black market; they have so deteriorated over the years that many are thought to be worthless, and they require trained operators to bring down an aircraft. But the two missiles Thursday came close enough for the captain of the Arkia jet to feel a bump.

As in October’s much deadlier Bali nightclub bombing, the attacks at Mombasa -- an Indian Ocean port known for nearby beaches and access to wildlife safaris -- will devastate tourism. All of Kenya and much of the rest of East Africa are likely to be affected. Terrorists may count as their prime foes the United States or Israel, but they are willing to cripple other countries as well. Cause enough havoc, shred an economy, and the result can be a failed state like Taliban-ruled Afghanistan either unable to keep terrorists out or willing to give them shelter.

Kenya’s is a secular government bedeviled by a radical Islamic minority. The 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing, which killed hundreds, mostly Kenyans, did result in arrests and a determination that Al Qaeda was responsible. After that attack and the virtually simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Tanzania, U.S. and other investigators uncovered Al Qaeda cells in Kenya dating to the early 1990s. The government welcomed new airport X-ray machines and metal detectors paid for by the United States, but gaping holes remain in security at ports, borders and airports.

As most of the prosperous nations tighten internal security, terrorists prove their cowardice by targeting weaker countries. The need for governments to share intelligence and coordinate investigators is greater than ever. Understanding the why, how and who of individual attacks can at least help in understanding how to stop the next one.