'Missing university students may be in Syria'

Kenya: Two university students who were reported missing in April might have joined Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), police investigations suggest.

Mahmoud Ahmed and his cousin Mohamed Abdulswamed bring to six the number of students suspected to have joined ISIS. The police, who have been tracking down the two, believe the recruiting agent picked them in Nairobi and drove towards Eastleigh, then hit the Nairobi-Nakuru highway before ending up at the Busia border.

Initially, the officers thought the duo had gone to Somalia to join Al Shabaab. Mahmoud was a second-year Bachelor of Science (Fisheries and Aquaculture Management) student at the University of Nairobi while Abdulswamed had graduated from Moi University.

They went missing on April 21, the same day police believe they were picked by the recruiters. Their families reported the matter.

According to police, the same group that recruited the two girls who also joined ISIS, Salwa Abdalla and Twafiqa Dahir was behind Mahmoud and Abdulswamed's departure.

Salwa and Twafiqa were university students at UoN and Kenyatta University respectively. They disappeared from their homes in South C Estate, Nairobi early this year. They have since communicated to their families saying they are in Syria.

Last week, National Counter Terrorism Centre Director Isaac Ochieng revealed students are being recruited at an alarming rate.

"We have intelligence that there are students who are on the payroll of Al Shabaab," Mr Ochieng said.