Scotland Yard joins hunt for terror cells in Kenya

British detectives are in Kenya to help track down militants and dismantle their terror network.
This follows the arrest last week in Mombasa of a Briton said to be the Al-Shabaab bomb expert.

Security sources said police want Scotland Yard to help them dig into his past and establish if he has links with Al-Qaeda and unmask the people he has been working with since he came into the country.

The Anti-Terrorist Police Unit raided the suspect’s house and seized material and chemicals believed to be used in bomb-making. The officers also questioned his wife, a Kenyan of Somali origin.

Items seized included dynamite, detonators and timers that are easily available on the market and are used in mining and quarrying industries.

Police described the Briton as a technician with expertise in making explosives.

On Saturday, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe directed dealers in laboratory chemicals to vet their clients and report any suspicious characters.

He said such chemicals, readily available and widely used in school and college laboratories, could be bought by terrorists to make explosives.

The chemicals listed as dangerous include Sulphuric acid, sulphur-based compounds, urea and other ammonium-based compounds, lead nitrate and hydrogen peroxide.

Eight people arrested
Police have so far arrested eight people in Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru on suspicion that they planned to carry out attacks over the festive period.

The ATPU is also questioning Mr Sylvester Opiyo aka Musa Osodo and Mr Hussein Nderitu Abbas aka Mohammed.

They were arrested when they presented themselves to the police on Saturday, hours after Mr Kiraithe flagged them as wanted criminals.

“Police have cause to believe they have information, which can assist us in unravelling any intended criminal activities by the Al-Shabaab in the country,” Mr Kiraithe said.

On the eight suspects, who are scheduled to be arraigned in court tomorrow, Mr Kiraithe said: “They are being interrogated on offences relating to preparation of illegal explosives. We believe that by Wednesday we shall produce them in court for the offence of attempting to make explosives.”

Police are also tracking down militants planting explosives in North Eastern, killing security personnel and injuring several civilians.

The attacks are planned by Al-Shabaab which wants the Kenya Defence Forces to pull out of Somalia.
There have been five explosions targeted at security officers in North Eastern since October when Kenya crossed the border into the war-torn country to crush the terrorists.
The explosions have been recorded in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera, killing three police officers, a soldier and two civilians. Some 22 others sustained injuries.

Al-Shabaab killed
Meanwhile, Kenyan troops killed five Somali militants and injured eight others when they struck southern Kismayo on Sunday, military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir has confirmed.
He said the attack took place at Kuday, south of Kismayo which had been the capital of the autonomous state of Jubaland under the administration of the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) since the late 1990s, Wamaitho and Deida Adhi areas of Lower Juba.

"The Kenya Defense Forces yesterday (Sunday) hit targets in Kuday, south of Kismayu, Wamaitho and Deida Adhi in Lower Juba in very successful attacks. Kuday attack left five Al-Shabaab killed, 8 critically injured, one technical and skiff destroyed," Major Chirchir said in his official Twitter account.

"Peace loving Somalis are requested to avoid Al-Shabaab camps as KDF/TFG (Transitional Federal government of Somalia) engages the common enemy," he cautioned.
Military sources said the Kenyan forces had managed to infiltrate Al-Shabaab ranks, hence the relative precision with which they pick their targets without incurring heavy causalities, so far Kenya has lost ten soldiers -- five in helicopter accident and five combat.

Kenya is currently engaged in the fight against the militia group in southern Somalia where it has been registering impressive gains and extending humanitarian assistance to the local population.