Wednesday November 18, 2015
By Oliver Mathenge
Police officers patrol Garissa town after two terror suspects tried to storm Garissa KDF camp in the heart of Garissa town yesterday.
The planning of the Garissa University College attack by al Shabaab that left 147 students dead on April 2 started in February, a parliamentary committee has said.The National Assembly Security Committee yesterday reported that Maalim Badi, an associate of Mustaf Ato, conducted surveillance on Garissa University College and other targets within Garissa town in February.He then shared the outcome of the surveillance with Ato in early March, the Committee's report says.
The MPs said their meeting with the National Intelligence Service revealed the attacks were sanctioned by Abdi Muse, aka Habil al Somali, and coordinated by Ato and Maalim Abbas.
“The Committee established that, in mid-March 2015, Mustaf Ato sent money to a facilitator in Garissa to obtain weapons and ammunition from Jilib. The facilitator used two associates of Mustaf Ato named Hidig and Abu Ali to transport the weapons to Mandera. Hidig then assigned four individuals, Saha Diriye Hussein, Mohamed Abdi Abikar, Hassan Aden Hassan and Omar Dahir, to ferry the weapons to Garissa,” the report says.
On March 24, the first pair of attackers, led by Khaled Hassan Issack, aka Jafar, arrived in Mandera, the report says.
“They then proceeded to Garissa on March 26. By March 31, all the four attackers assembled in Garissa. They left their abode on April 2 and entered Garissa University College between 05:00 and 05:30 hours,” the report says.
The Committee was informed that the four terrorists involved in the attack were Abdirahim Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Ahmed (leader), Khaled Hassan Issack, aka Jafar (Abdirahim’s close associate), Muhamad (identity unknown) and Zarqawi (identity unknown).
“Of the four confirmed attackers only one had been positively identified as Abdirahim Abdullahi Mohamed, a University of Nairobi-trained lawyer, who left the university without graduating in 2013. He was also a former student at Wamy High School in South B Estate, Nairobi,” the report says.
It adds that the attack was facilitated by Hassan Adan Hassan, who moved weapons from Mandera to Garissa. Mohamed Abdi Abikar moved weapons from Mandera to Garissa. Sahal Diriye Hussein, aka Zakariya, a Garissa-based facilitator, was arrested, and Omar Dahir Orai escaped to Somalia on April 3.
The report says that Situation Report Serial Number 38/2015, of February 24, indicated unidentified al Shabaab operatives entered Garissa town, planning to carry out terror attacks within the town on an unspecified date.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/how-garissa-attacks-were-planned-and-executed#sthash.B5XFf4aR.dpuf