Eight people were wounded, one seriously, in a bomb blast in a restaurant late Monday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, police said Tuesday.
“No one died but eight people were wounded, one is in a serious condition,” top Tanzanian police officer Issaya Mngulu told AFP.
“It was an improvised explosive device thrown through a window.”
The attack took place at an upmarket Indian restaurant popular with foreigners and wealthy Tanzanians in the centre of town.
It was not clear if any of those wounded were foreigners.
The floor of the restaurant was covered in blood, with overturned chairs amid broken glass, an AFP reporter said.
CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY
No one has claimed responsibility, but two people have arrested following the attack, Mngulu said, saying both were Tanzanians but giving no further details.
Arusha is a key town for Tanzania’s tourist industry, a major source of foreign currency for the eastern African country.
Visitors come to the city before travelling onwards to the iconic snowcapped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, as well as to the Serengeti national park, famed for its great migration of wildebeest, one of nature’s most spectacular wonders.
The attack is the latest blast in Arusha.
Three people were killed and 60 wounded in June 2013 in Arusha when a grenade was hurled into a political rally by an opposition party.
A month before, attackers wounded 30 when an improvised bomb exploded in a Catholic church in Arusha.
There is no indication the blasts were linked, or who carried out the attacks.
These sides have been pretty quiet. What’s cooking. We saw a shot that we thought would explode big yesterday. Then silence!