Gunmen kidnap Italian, shoot children near Kenya’s coast

NAIROBI: Gunmen kidnapped an Italian volunteer and shot and wounded four people in Kenya late on Tuesday in an attack that has sparked fears of an upsurge in activity by militants. Police and residents said men armed with AK-47 rifles seized the 23-year-old from a guesthouse in Chakama, a small town south of the border with Somalia and near the coast Police said no group had claimed responsibility. The Italian charity the woman was working for, Africa Milele, posted a short message on its website saying: “There are no words to comment on what is happening. Silvia, we are all with you.” The group says it helps orphaned children. Tourism is vital for Kenya’s economy but it suffered in the early part of the decade because of a series of abductions and attacks blamed on Somali militant group Al Shabaab that culminated in a raid on a shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013 in which more than 60 people were killed. The industry has since recovered and authorities say they have taken steps to thwart fresh attacks. — Reuters