Tomorrow, Tanzanians and Kenyans will mark a grim day 10 years ago, when terrorists targeted the American embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, leaving hundreds of innocent people dead and thousands severely injured. Neither country had been prepared to deal with such massive suffering of its people at the hands of terrorists.

On August 7, 1998, the hitherto unknown al-Qaeda left a trail of destruction like never before, which remains a visible mark on the relations between these countries and the United States, which the terror merchants had targeted. The bombs went off simultaneously in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in mid-morning. At the end of it, 11 people lay dead in Dar, and 85 were seriously injured. The Nairobi blast killed 206 and left more than 5,000 badly injured.

With the twin attacks, what the American later tagged the war on terror effectively began, as Washington sought to avenge the brutality visited on its East African embassies. Since then, efforts have been made to improve security in the region to avert possible future attacks. The Americans went a step further by building brand new and better protected embassies in the two cities scarred by the agents of Osama bin Laden.

One of the suspected masterminds of the Dar attack, Mohammed Ghailani, a Tanzanian remains in American custody at Guantanano Bay, Cuba. Though a lot has been done to beef up security, it would be naive of of any of us to even imagine that the terror threat is over. Tanzania and it neighbour, Kenya, remain potential targets of the terrorists despite the blood that was spilt in the daylight mayhem of 10 years ago.

And there could be no better warning than the reports that the key suspect in the bombing of the Us embassies may have escaped a police dragnet in Kenya last weekend. This calls for better surveillance by the security forces, and a general public alert for any suspicious looking people or developments. The police and other security apparatus cannot on their own cover every ground in this vast country. It behoves us all to be on the lookout and volunteer any information that can be used to ward off any danger.

It's important that the people heed the security precautions that may be required of them. They must not only report any suspicious movements and people, but should also avoid unnecessary gatherings during this period. Although these security precautions may create some tension and panic, they are in order as prevention is better than cure.