Couple worried they'd be blamed for bomb

Alicia Kalhammer and Jose Tena have been released from custody

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VIDEO CNN's Catherine Bond reports that Israeli investigators are exerting pressure on Kenyans to hand over certain evidence gathered from last week's hotel attack. (December 1) PLAY VIDEO The couple held by Kenyan police in the deadly hotel bombing worried they would be blamed for the attack. CNN's Sheila Macvicar reports (December 2) PLAY VIDEO Amateur video of the Kenyan hotel bombing. (November 29) PLAY VIDEO RELATED • 'Children covered in blood' • On the Scene: Many clues • Chat rooms warned of attacks • Kenya's history of terrorism • Background: Somali-based group suspected FACT BOX Since the 1991 overthrow of Somali dictator Muhammad Siad Barre, Somalia has been a nation in conflict. Al-Ittihad al-Islami emerged with Barre's ouster. The group wants to establish an Islamic regime and has helped spread Islamic fundamentalism, according to the U.S. government. Some observers say Al-Ittihad al-Islami was responsible for bringing down two American helicopters and the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers in 1993, according to a congressional report. A United Nations peacekeeping mission led by the United States ended in the deaths of hundreds of Somalis and numerous soldiers, including the 18 Americans. The 15-hour firefight was dramatized in the movie "Black Hawk Down." Al-Ittihad al-Islami has participated in a number of insurgent-style attacks against Ethiopian forces and Somali factions, according to the State Department. The group is also thought to be responsible for a series of bombings in public places in 1996 and 1997. Eight Red Cross workers and two pilots were kidnapped in 1998 as they arrived in Somalia. Gunmen demanded a $100,000 ransom but released them about a week later. The State Department believes Al-Ittihad al-Islami is responsible for their abduction. With the signing of the USA Patriot Act on December 5, 2001, the Bush administration placed Al-Ittihad al-Islami, or the Islamic Union, on its list of organizations whose funds are frozen. The intent is to deter donations to the organization and alert other governments to U.S. concerns about the group's involvement in terrorist activities.

MOMBASA, Kenya (CNN) -- The couple held by Kenyan police in connection with last week's deadly hotel bombing said Sunday they "looked really good on paper" as potential suspects and worried they would be blamed for the attack.

Alicia Kalhammer, a U.S. citizen, and husband Jose Tena, a Spanish citizen with a resident alien card, drew police attention when they tried to check out of their hotel shortly after the bombing. They were released Saturday after two days in Kenyan police custody.

"When we were taken to the police station and held there, we thought that these people could put us in jail and throw away the key, and no one would know that we were here," Kalhammer told CNN.

The attack by three suicide bombers Thursday at the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel killed 10 Kenyans and three Israeli tourists. Kenyan authorities were holding 10 other people for questioning in connection with the bombing.

The couple were held at a police station near Mombasa's port. Tena said he read press accounts about their arrest while Kalhammer was being questioned and "it looked really good on paper."

"It said, 15 to 30 minutes after the bombing they arrested two suspects coming out of a hotel rapidly," he said. "The first 20 hours before we knew we had gotten hold of someone [to help] were the most stressful and fearful hours of our lives."

State Department officials said consular officers were sent from Nairobi to Mombasa and worked with Kenyan authorities to aid the couple's release. Kalhammer said their arrival was "like the cavalry is here."

State Department officials said they were relieved that Kalhammer and Tena were freed.

Kenyan authorities were still holding six Pakistanis and four Somalis arrested after the explosion. The authorities said the 10 entered the country by boat and did not have proper travel documents. Most had passports issued in Somalia, authorities said.

A few minutes before the bombing, two shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles missed an Israeli charter jet taking off from Mombasa. None of the 261 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the Arkia Boeing 757 was hurt and the plane landed safely in Tel Aviv.

Police searching through rubble at the Paradise Hotel said Saturday they found two gas canisters of the sort sometimes used for welding that they believe were filled with highly explosive material and used in the bomb.

Investigators also found the scorched barrel of an AK-47 assault rifle, the remnants of what appears to be its magazine, and a mobile phone.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel's intelligence service Mossad had been dispatched to pursue those responsible for the attack.

Israeli and Kenyan investigators were in heated discussions about who will carry out forensic investigation of the bomb fragments, vehicle parts, rocket launchers, and their batteries.

The Kenyans sought to hold the evidence, at least initially, while the Israelis wanted to take it into their possession.

A decision on the matter was expected to be made by Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi.

Kenya's ambassador to Israel blamed the al Qaeda terrorist network for the attacks, but a spokesman for President Bush said it was premature to say al Qaeda was involved.

Kenya's economy has suffered since August 7, 1998, when al Qaeda terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, killing 214 people, 12 of them Americans. A nearly simultaneous explosion rocked the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 11.

A senior administration source told CNN that al Qaeda and a Somali-based Islamist group, Al-Ittihad al-Islami, topped the list of suspects. The official and other U.S. officials said they believe AI-Ittihad al-Islami is associated with al Qaeda.

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