Kenyan police nab militants suspect, recover firearms in border town

Kenya's security forces on Wednesday evening arrested a terror suspect and recovered a cache of firearms and explosives in northeastern Garissa town.

Interior security ministry officials confirmed Thursday that the weapons included three AK-47 riffles, 227 rounds of ammunition, seven rocket-propelled grenades, and four hand grenades.

"Security agencies this evening seized this cache of firearms and explosives and arrested a terror suspect in Garissa," the ministry confirmed on Thursday.

The arrest comes just a few days after six Tanzanians suspected to be on their way to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia were arrested in Garissa on Sunday.

The Tanzanians, aged between 20 and 40, were arrested in Dadaab town, from where they were planning to cross into Somalia to joint the militant group. They were also in possession of assorted weapons, according to Northeastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh.

Meanwhile, the country's security agencies are on high alert following increased activities of Al-Shabaab terrorist cells in the country, especially in northeastern region near the Somali border.

According to a police report, the increased activities by the militants show that they could be planning attacks on unspecified locations in the country.

The report cites the presence of some suspected militants in remote villages in Lamu County, as well as arrest of suspects and recovery of guns and ammunition in other counties in the past four days.

In central Kenya's Kiambu County, a man was arrested and 90 rounds of ammunition and seven pistol magazines recovered. He later claimed the pistol bullets belonged to a licensed gun holder who is at large. In Mandera, northeast Kenya, a carbine and a PJ rifles and eight rounds of ammunition were recovered.

Another 421 rounds of ammunition were recovered after unknown passengers abandoned them in a commuter minibus in Embu County, eastern Kenya.

"These increased sighting, arrests and recruitment indicates that the terrorists may be planning a series of attacks in the country," the police report says.

Kenya has been subjected to successive explosives attacks by Al-Shabaab operatives in the country following the onslaught by Kenyan soldiers on the militant group in Somalia since 2011.

Source: XINHUA