Four dead in Pangani blast

At least four people, including two policemen, were killed on Wednesday when a car bomb exploded outside a police station in Pangani, Nairobi.

Police have taken away two suspects for questioning after they were stopped at a red light in the neighbourhood, the interior ministry said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, but the nearby Eastleigh suburb has been targeted in several attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab rebels.

"At least four dead after a sedan exploded at Pangani police station, of which two are police officers," the interior ministry tweeted.

"Agents intercepted the suspect car at traffic lights and took the suspects away for questioning," it said, adding that police have since exploded another grenade that was found at the scene.

Tensions have been heightened in Eastleigh since the government launched a crackdown on suspected Islamist insurgents this month.

More than 650 suspects were arrested after at least six people were killed by three almost-simultaneous explosions targeting two restaurants and a clinic in a densely populated area of the suburb on March 31.

Rights groups say the counter-terrorism operation has indiscriminately targeted people of Somali origin, many of whom have been held without charge in unsanitary conditions while others have been deported back to their war-torn country.

Kenya has been targeted by Al-Shabaab since it sent troops to fight to neighbouring Somalia in 2011.

The Islamist group claimed responsibility for a devastating attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall last year in which at least 67 people were killed.