- The gang planned another attack in the area. Such attacks have been deadly.
- He said the officers recovered one RPG launcher, an RPG heat warhead, a booster, and two booster housing.
Anti-terror police are holding a suspect believed to be a member of Somalia’s al-Shabaab terror group after he was found with rocket-propelled grenades in an operation in the Milimani area, Lamu County.
Police spokesman Bruno Shioso said the arrest and recovery of the cache or arms happened Sunday following an intelligence-led operation to flush out remnants of al-Shabaab militants hiding in Boni forest.
“The suspect is reportedly part of a group of other militants believed to have staged a foiled attack on a police camp recently. He had a visible suspected-gun-inflicted wound on the left leg above the ankle allegedly sustained in the previous foiled attack.,” said Shioso.
The gang planned another attack in the area. Such attacks have been deadly.
He said the officers recovered one RPG launcher, an RPG heat warhead, a booster, and two booster housing.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which has been under attack by terrorists in the past.
Boni Forest is an operation zone as the national government has since 2015 conducted a multi-agency security exercise dubbed Linda Boni, which is aimed at flushing out al Shabaab militants believed to be hiding there.
Research by government security agencies says 30 per cent of the country’s security problems are traced to the porous Somalia border often penetrated by terrorists.
On July 1, the KDF troops killed 11 al-Shabaab militants during an operation carried out between Sarira and Kolbio areas in Boni Forest, near the Lamu-Somalia border.
A rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG), several assault weapons, assorted ammunition as well as personal effects were also recovered during the operation.
Officials said the slain militants were part of the Jeysh Ayman team led by Maalim Ayman who had planned to carry out attacks within the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor using Improvised Explosive Devices.
They were all newly graduated al-Shabaab terrorists who were part of a logistics team that was moving IED toward Sarira.
KDF went to Somalia in October 2011. Kenya's incursion into southern Somalia started after the kidnapping of two Spanish women, who were working for MSF at the Dadaab refugee camp.
The abductions were carried out by the militants who the troops planned to push away under Operation Linda Nchi.
Kenya began the construction of the 700-kilometre-long wall in 2015 to stop the militants from crossing into and out of Kenya.
The wall, which is known as the Kenya-Somalia border securitisation project is among others meant to secure the country from attacks by the Somalia-based al Shabaab terrorists.
The project plan includes having designated immigration and custom entry points with a two-foot-tall concrete wall fitted with CCTV cameras.
Trenches are also being constructed in the area.
The plan includes the creation of at least 22 border posts on the border with well-equipped personnel to respond to any form of aggression.
Officials say once complete, the teams will be spread 40 kilometres apart to enable a quick response to attacks from militants.
Research by government security agencies says 30 per cent of the country’s security problems are traced to the porous Somalia border often penetrated by terrorists.