A bomb exploded outside a hotel in downtown Nairobi in Kenya killing two people and injuring more than 30 others at around 9 a.m. local time. The cause of the blast is not yet clear.

Police Commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali told reporters the explosion was due to something that someone had carried in. When asked if it was the work of a suicide bomber, he refused to speculate, saying "that type of speculation is not factual at all".

Initial inquiries have found that a man arrived by taxi and headed for a small restaurant, when he was stopped by a guard, as he was wearing something which looked suspicious. Police, who spoke to the media anonymously, said the explosion occurred shortly after. They were not certain if the man had anything to do with the explosion.

Witnesses to the explosion claim a man left a black bag near a shoe shiner just before the blast. Robert Maritim told the Associated Press that a "black bag was left on the ground".