NBC: Two far-away bombings 20 years ago set off the modern era of terror
Many Americans were paying closer attention to a president's personal scandal, but the destruction in Kenya and Tanzania was pivotal.
WASHINGTON — Twenty years ago Tuesday, on Aug. 7, 1998, suicide bombers drove their pick-up trucks to the gates of the U.S. embassies in the capitals of Kenya and Tanzania. What no one knew then — in part because many Americans were paying closer attention to a president's personal scandal — was that the bombers were ushering in a new era of terror that would culminate in the 9/11 attacks.
Within minutes, deadly explosions of thousands of pounds of TNT reduced much of the interiors of the buildings to rubble, killing 224 people, and wounding thousands more. Among the 12 Americans killed was the first CIA victim known to have been killed by Al Qaeda, Molly Hardy, 51, a regional finance officer in Nairobi.
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Marking Al Qaeda's 20th Anniversary Of Simultaneous Bombing The U.S. Embassy Bombings In Kenya And Tanzania
Kenya, Tanzania mark bombings which introduced Al- Qaeda -- New Vision/AFP
20 years after al-Qaeda attack, Kenyans still bear scars -- Al Jazeera
Nairobi US embassy raid was planned years before August 7, 1998 -- The East Africa
A day of remembrance for the heroes we lost 20 years ago -- Edith Bartley, The Hill
The 1998 Nairobi bomb blast in pictures -- Standard Digital/AFP
