As Kenyan and Israeli victims of last week's terrorist attacks were laid to rest, officials from both countries argued about possession of evidence and who would conduct an investigation.

Kenya has so far refused to hand over evidence from a bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel last Thursday that killed 16 people, including ten Africans, three Israelis and three suicide bombers.

The hotel bomb came minutes after a failed missile attack on an Israeli airliner.

"None of this evidence is going back to Israel. This evidence is our responsibility," Kenyan bomb specialist Charles Jamu said.

Kenyan police said Israeli authorities want to take pieces from a four-wheel-drive vehicle that exploded outside the hotel. Israel also wants the launchers and missile casings from shoulder-launched rockets believed used in the failed attempt to shoot down the Israeli plane.

Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said from Jerusalem that Kenya had been co-operating "up to now," but that the Kenyans weren't prepared for the rigorous investigation required.

Jamu, the bomb specialist, said investigators found parts of two gas welding cylinders which they suspect were fastened to the vehicle's underside to cause a bigger explosion at the Paradise Hotel 20 kilometres north of Mombasa.

One of the pieces had four digits on it. Police believe is part of a serial number that might be used to identify the cylinder.

The prime suspect in both attacks is al Qaeda, although American officials believe that the Somali militant group Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya, linked to al Qaeda, was responsible.

Responding to that claim, Somalia's interim government said Saturday it would work to help dismantle terror groups in East Africa.

Somalia borders Kenya, and weapons and false passports are readily available there. American officials have said it was a haven for terrorists, including members of al Qaeda.

At a funeral service in Tel Aviv on Sunday, a young man delivered a harsh message to Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Do your job, like the Americans have done in Afghanistan and the Russians in Chechnya," he said through a translator.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who reclaimed leadership of the Likud party in a vote on Thursday, has sent the Mossad spy agency to hunt down the perpetrators.

With elections in Israel coming in January and a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq looming, many American politicians fear more bloodshed is likely.

"They're going to find their best opportunity," Senator Richard Shelby said Sunday. "And what we've got to do is not just investigate what happened and who did it, we've got to stop these attacks."

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department issued a warning about terrorist threats in East African countries, specifically Djibouti.

The Pentagon is establishing a command centre in Djibouti and will bolster its force in the region from 800 to 1,200. Many of those troops are Marines or elite special forces.

With reports from CTV's Alan Fryer in Washington, Reuters and The Associated Press.