EIGHT HELD IN MALINDI AFTER TERROR CELL RAID

Police mugshots showing pictures of three of the eight terror suspects, Mr Imran Hassan Ahmed, Nasur Sultan Mbarak, and Samir Shamsha Mohammed arrested at a Nakumatt store in Malindi on June 29, 2016. PHOTO | COURTESY 

By FRED MUKINDA and CHARLES LWANGA

Eight men suspected of being members of a terrorist cell operating in Malindi town and Boni Forest in Lamu County are now in police custody.
Four suspects who had escaped police dragnet at their hideout were arrested on Wednesday at a Nakumatt store in Malindi and their car impounded.

The other four were arrested on Tuesday at the house they were hiding in near Breeze Point after a gun fight with police officers.

One of them identified as Mr Rashid Sultan Mbarak was killed while a police officer sustained injuries during the shootout.

A shot gun and revolver were recovered at the scene of the shooting.

Officers who searched the house also found eight rounds of ammunition, a laptop, six mobile phones, photocopies of 18 national IDs belonging to different people and 15 passport size photographs inscribed with different names.

Those arrested on Wednesday were identified as Mr Sultan Ali Sultan, Mr Imran Hassan Ahmed, Mr Shamir shamsha Mohamed and Mr Nasur Sultan Mbaraka.

The others are Mr Hamud Majid Hamud, Mr Khamis Hemed Khamisi, Mr Hamza Juma Khamisi and Mr Abdullaziz Ali Sultan.

Their photographs, obtained by the Nation, were also circulated among security officials.

They are being interrogated by Anti-Terrorism Police Unit detectives.

A security brief said that police carried out the operation “to flush out suspected Al-Shabaab operatives who were planning a terror attack in the coastal region.”

The action followed separate reports by members of the public who said a group of people had assembled at the houses and their activities seemed “suspicious.”

Initial investigations linked the suspects to Jaysh Ayman, a faction of Al-Shabaab that operates in Boni Forest in Lamu County.

Officers have heightened security following the incident at the Coast and police have asked Kenyans across the country to be extra vigilant and report “any suspicious person or activities by calling 999, 112 visiting the nearest police station or any administrative office.”

“We thank members of public for their continued cooperation with security agencies in ensuring the safety and security of our beloved motherland,” a report said.

Some of the suspects are believed to have travelled to Malindi from Mombasa last week on a mission to recruit youths into the terror network.

Malindi Police boss Matawa Muchangi said the suspects were the first to shoot, prompting the officers to respond.

He added the shooting lasted 10 minutes.

“We have been trailing some terror suspects from Mombasa in the last two weeks said to be on a recruitment mission in Malindi,” Mr Muchangi added.

Regarding the injured officer, the police chief also said: “He was shot on his arm and chest. But he is in a stable condition and is waiting to undergo a chest operation.”

On Wednesday, relatives of the slain suspect had thronged the Malindi Police Station seeking clearance to get his body for a burial ceremony.

CREDIT: NATION MEDIA