Father of Kenya terror victims: It doesn't ease pain
Rami Anter, who lost his sons Dvir and Noy in 2002 terror attack in Mombasa, has not truly been able to recover from tragedy. He is happy that perpetrator of attack was assassinated Monday in Somalia, but says sorrow is just as strong
Anter has not found any consolation for the death of his sons, even after being informed that Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the Kenyan terrorist who perpetrated the 2002 attack that claimed 15 lives, was killed Monday in Somalia.
"A long time has passed since the attack, and I didn't even know that people who planned it are still walking around alive. I thought the event was forgotten. I support that every person caught be killed. This is satisfaction for me, even though it is hard to use such a word to describe it. They just should not stay alive so that they don't hurt more people," said Anter.
"I don't know how many participated in the operation. Each one of them who is killed eases the soul, but at least I can know that these people are assassinated in the end. I am amazed how many terrorists were involved in the attack only in order to kill three Israelis," he said.
Paradise Hotel in Mombasa after the attack (Photo: AP)
Anter said he still is having a hard time picking up the pieces after the attack, which claimed the lives of his two sons. "Since the event, we haven't been the same. Life has changed drastically. There is an emptiness in the air. There is no sense of continuity or a full house. We have no desire to go to work. There is sadness in the air all the time," Anter said.
Explosion at hotel, missiles fired at Arkia flight
The Mombasa terror attack took place in November 2002 when an explosives-laden jeep exploded at the entrance to the Israeli-owned Paradise hotel. A short time after the blast, two shoulder-launched missiles were fired at an Arkia airliner taking off from Mombasa with a group of Israeli tourists on board. The missiles missed their target, and the plane returned safely to Israel.
Mombasa-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed Monday, was considered the head of the al-Qaeda in the city under the tutelage of Fazul Abdullah Mohammad, who has been indicted in the US for the 1998 attack on the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
American defense officials have reported that Nabhan was in direct contact with Osama bin Laden even before the embassy attacks.
It is believed that Nabhan fired one of the missiles at the Arikia airliner and the owner of the jeep used in the explosion at the Paradise Hotel. He reportedly escaped to Somalia with his wife and has been one of the FBI's most wanted since 2006.
