Kenya: Somalis with Explosives Arrested
Nairobi, Mar 19 (Prensa Latina) The arrest of two Somali citizens carrying explosives avoided an attack with great consequences against the Kenyan tourist city of Mombasa, the main eastern African port, said an official report here Wednesday. The suspects were arrested while carrying two bombs in his car with triggers able to fly a 14-storey building, argued Nelson Marwa, Commissioner of Police in that city colliding with the Indian Ocean coast.
Military supplies found by specialist officers in the vehicle, there were included six explosive cylinders ten kilos each, 270 bullets, six hand grenades, electric cables and AK47 assault rifles, the source added.
The arrested, who reportedly introduced the material through a place called Lunga Lunga on the border with Tanzania, are Abdiaziz Abdullahi Noor and Isaac Noor and remain in custody, charged with possession of a vehicle undeclared stolen and forged documents.
The plan was apparently individuals pass the ammunition to assemble in Mombasa, 400 km from Nairobi, one of the cities of the East African coast frequenting the largest number of tourists for its beautiful beaches and exotic atmosphere.
The arrest of the two Somalis followed a previous intelligence work by Kenyan security forces, backed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in line with the declarations of Marwa.
Our agent shared information with local and international agencies intercepted communications of suspects and managed to follow until about Changamwe, a suburb of Mombasa where the arrest occurred, the officer explained.
Security forces in that district were put on high alert and reinforced controls at the city airport after detecting the alleged attackers with explosives, said the police chief of the city.
Mombasa and other Kenyan territory were threatened by the Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab from receipt in October 2011 in the territory of neighboring troops sent to Nairobi to face these radical militias.
Kenya, which justified its intervention alleging kidnapping and other actions of that organization against foreign personnel in their districts, then suffered from fundamentalist attacks, including last September against the Westgate supermarket.
A command of Al-Shabab raided the store where you used to buy the local upper class and led a bloody military operation four days of its facilities destroyed, killing 72 people, including five of the attackers