Police arrest suspected Al Shabaab terrorist in Lamu
Police in Lamu have arrested a terror suspect who was reportedly armed with a cache of weapons.
A statement by the National Police Service revealed the suspect was part of a group of militants who is suspected to have staged an attack at a police camp in the region.
“In one of our latest wins on the war on terror, General Service Unit (GSU) personnel arrested a suspected Alshabaab militia and recovered a cache of weapons within Milimani area, Lamu County,” the statement seen by Nairobi News read in part.
According to the police, the arrest took place following an intelligence-led operation that was aimed at flushing out remnants of the Al Qaeda linked terror group who are believed to be hiding in Boni Forest which borders Kenya and Somalia.
As soon as he was nabbed police could see a gun-inflicted wound on his left leg above his ankle which he is believed to have sustained during a previous foiled attack in Lamu.
The statement revealed the suspect was nabbed with one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), one RPG heat warhead, one booster and two booster housing.
The weapons are commonly used by members of the Alshabaab group whenever they are carrying out attacks.
“The suspect has since been placed in custody as security teams are out to pursue his accomplices believed to be holed up in the Boni forest,” the police said.
The arrest of the suspect was courtesy of members of the public who gave police a tip-off after they noticed the suspect behaving weirdly.
In September 2015, the government of Kenya launched an operation dubbed Linda Boni, a military campaign in response to al- shabaab’s occupation of the forest.
It is believed that members of the militant group occupied the forest as early as 2012.
The operation has led to the arrest and killing of many members of Al-shabaab by Kenya forces.