Saturday, January 11, 2014
SIX youth suspected to be alshabab recruits were on Thursday evening intercepted by the police in Mararani area in Lamu East.
Police intercepted the youth as they attempted to croos into Somalia through Kiunga route.
The six Faraj Fahim Swaleh ,Twafiq Swaleh, Nabil Mohammed Lali, Fara Abdi Kassim and Mohammed Abdalla are being held at Lamu Police Station.
Lamu East police boss Samson Obara said detectives acting on intelligence reports intercepted a passenger bus plying the Mombasa-Lamu road.
He said the youth planned to sneak into Somalia through Kiunga border to join the altshaabab militants.
“We arrested them at 5pm. They are believed to have left Mombasa on Wednesday at around 2pm. We were informed by our people that they had boarded a Tahmeed Company bus before boarding another bus,”
Obara said the youths aged between 16 and 18 years claimed they were going for a fishing expedition in Somalia.
“We had suspected that they were within Hindi, Mokowe and Lamu Island. We arrested them between Kiunga and Maangani in a place known as Mararani,” he said.
Police said the six are among foreigners who have joined the alshabab group to undergo military training and carryout offensives inside Somalia.
Intelligence agents said the youth are trained how to assemble and detonate bombs, use weapons, and carry out terror strikes
Obara said the youth are the latest batch of extremist youths joining the Rag tag alshabab terror group blamed plotting attacks in the country since the incursion of Kenya Defence Forces' troops in Somalia in 2011.
The youth were yesterday handed over to a team of anti terrorism police officers for further grilling.
The detectives confiscated their mobile phones to assist in apprehending key alshabab recruiters in the country.
Speaking to the star on phone Obara said, “We will contact mobile phone companies to establish their communication to establish the wide network of alshabab recruitment,”
The police officer said the militants have developed several operational cells in Mombasa Kisauni Kilifi and south coast for the purpose of recruiting and launching attacks from within the country.
A Kenyan Fuad Abubakar Manswad, an accomplice of German terror suspect John Jermaine Grant is among key militant leaders suspected to be funding and recruiting youths.
A senior ATPU said Abubakar is suspected to be coordinating the terror activities in the country by funding and training youth to fight in Somalia and launch attacks in Kenya.
Abubakar was arrested with Grant and charged with being in possession of explosives as they allegedly planned to carryout attacks in Mombasa on December 2010 in Kisauni district.
He however later jumped bail in November 2011 after he was released on Sh 20 milion bond.
The police boss implored members of the public to cooperate with the police to curb any crime in the area
“We are urging our people to help us catch any suspicious person in the town and along the Ocean. Without their cooperation we will not be able to fight crimes effectively,” he said.
The police boss said that there was no need for alarm. He encouraged tourists to visit the area.
“We have put a round the clock surveillance and therefore there is no need for any alarm. All those tourists who have planned to be in Lamu should come because security here is very tight,” said he.
Source: The Star