Kenyan police officers killed in Mombasa riots over imam death

NAIROBI // Two Kenyan policeman died overnight of injuries from a grenade attack during riots in the port city of Mombasa, taking the toll of officers killed by the blast to three, according to officials.

"We have lost two more officers, they succumbed to injuries in the night," said regional police chief Aggrey Adoli, adding that the situation in Mombasa, which has seen two days of deadly protest, was so far calm.

Over a dozen other officers were wounded in the grenade attack, which came as officers tried to contain protests by hundreds of angry youths rioting in support of Aboud Rogo Mohammed, a imam shot dead on Monday.

"We do not have any problems this morning ... Even public transport is back to normal business, and shops have been opened," Adoli said.

"We have made adequate deployment for street patrols to maintain peace," he added.

The cleric — popularly known as Rogo — was on US and UN sanctions lists for allegedly supporting Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebab militants.

He was killed Monday in Mombasa when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his vehicle as he was driving with his wife and children, leaving it riddled with bullets.

Images released by his supporters showed his bloody corpse slumped behind the wheel. His wife and children reportedly survived the attack.

One person was killed in riots on Monday following the killing of Rogo.

Foreign embassies — including those of Australia, Britain and France — have issued travel warnings for Mombasa, a key tourist hub and Kenya's main port.