Second blast in 3 days hits Somali neighborhood in Kenya December 8, 2012 -- Updated 1037 GMT (1837 HKT) Smoke billows from a fire in a street, on December 7, 2012, following a large explosion outside a mosque in Nairobi. Three people were killed and eight wounded in the blast, the Kenyan Red Cross and police said. The blast followed one in the same neighborhood earlier in the week. At least 16 others are injured in the Friday explosion near a mosque in Eastleigh Recent explosions have rocked the East African nation Last month, a grenade attack killed seven and triggered riots in the area Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- A blast ripped through a neighborhood in Kenya's capital, killing three people in the second attack in three days targeting the predominantly Somali area. At least 16 others were injured in the Friday explosion near a mosque in Eastleigh, a neighborhood in Nairobi, according to the Kenya Red Cross. It was the second blast in the area in three days. On Wednesday, another blast left eight people injured, including three who were in critical condition with severe head injuries, the Kenya Red Cross said in a statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Recent explosions have rocked the East African nation, including a grenade attack last month that killed seven and triggered riots in Eastleigh. The grenade was hurled at a minibus full of passengers driving through the neighborhood. Following that attack, angry mobs scorched and looted Somali-owned shops in the area. Somalis in the area stoned the attackers, triggering riots that prompted police to respond with teargas. Grenade attacks have escalated since Kenya sent its forces to neighboring Somalia last year to battle the Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked group it blamed for kidnapping foreigners in the nation. Authorities have also blamed the terror group and its sympathizers for the grenade and gun attacks in Kenya. Kenyan forces are engaged in a fight in Somalia to debilitate the militants. The group once held large territories in Somalia, but has lost significant ground in the past year, including its southern base of Kismayo. The forces seized the port city in September. CNN's Alden Mahler Levine and Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report