3 Kenyans acquitted of hotel blast

"I have come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed beyond reasonable doubt to prove its case," Chief Magistrate Aggray Muchelule told the court.

"I find them not guilty and set them free."

The three defendants -- Salmin Mohammed Khamis, Mohammed Kubwa Seif and Said Saggar Ahmed -- bowed their heads in prayer as the verdict was read out in the packed courtroom.

Three Israelis and 12 Kenyans were killed after two suicide bombers broke through barriers outside the Paradise Hotel with a four-wheel drive vehicle full of explosives on Nov. 28, 2002.

Muchelule also acquitted the men of a further charge of plotting an almost simultaneous attack on an Israeli airliner.