Kenya and Tanzania are marking the 10th anniversary of the US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam.

More than 220 people were killed and 5,000 injured in the first major attack by al-Qaeda on US targets.

Relatives and survivors have gathered at the site of the attack in Nairobi, which is now a memorial garden.

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Blinded

The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says many of those survivors and the families of the victims there will gather at the memorial garden on the site where the US embassy used to stand.

At about 1030 local time on 7 August 1998, a suicide bomber threw a grenade at the guardhouse outside the US embassy in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, and tried to ram his way through the barricades.

He then detonated the explosives packed inside the vehicle, severely damaging the embassy and bringing down a seven-story building near by, killing 218 people and wounding 500.

A simultaneous attack on the embassy in Dar-es-Salaam killed 11 people, and wounded 72.

The bombings were al-Qaeda's first major strike in its conflict with the United States, and they fundamentally changed both the US and Kenya.

Among those who remember the day in Nairobi is Catherine Bwire, who was a 24-year-old accounts clerk at the time.

Like so many, she heard a small explosion - a grenade - go off outside the embassy just by her office.

She went to the window to see what the trouble was and as she watched, the attackers detonated their main charge which shattered surrounding windows.

The glass tore out Catherine's eyes, blinding her instantly, it was a tragically common injury.

Manhunt

Our correspondent says the blast changed the lives of so many victims, but it also created a kind of bond among them.

It did much the same for Kenya and the United States.

The two countries are now firm allies in the fight against terrorism, both countries still struggling to come to terms with its consequences.

But the botched operation on Sunday has raised questions in Kenya about whether the government is doing enough to protect its citizens from the threat of terrorism.

The police have intensified their manhunt for the fugitive in the coastal city of Mombasa, and security along the country's borders has been tightened.

The country's sizeable Muslim community also says the "war on terror" is being used to victimise Muslims.

At least 17 Kenyan Muslims are being held in Ethiopia on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.

The survivors and families of those who died in the attacks have called for compensation from the US and Kenyan governments to help them cope with the effects of the blasts.

(BBC)

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