In Kenya, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry honored the victims of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi and a series of more recent attacks as he pledged Monday that the U.S. will continue supporting the fight against terrorism.
Kerry took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial at the site where the embassy bombing took place, saying “terrorists will always fail” in efforts to instill fear and divide people and that “the future does not belong to them.”
“Yes, they can reduce a building to rubble,” Kerry said. “And yes, they can even deprive innocent people of their lives, but they do not give anyone anything of what really makes life worthwhile.”
Kerry also met Monday with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss ways to more effectively deal with threats posed by the militant group al-Shabab based in neighboring Somalia.
The militants have targeted Kenya in multiple attacks, including the 2013 siege of the Westgate mall in Nairobi and last month’s assault on Garissa University. The group has linked the attacks to Kenya’s involvement in an African Union force battling the militants in Somalia.
The U.S. has been carrying out drone strikes to support the AU troops.
