Police alert: Al Shabaab planning major attack along Kenya-Somalia border

Police Spokesman Charles Owino. [File, Standard]

Security agencies at the Kenya-Somalia border are on high alert after intelligence indicated that Al Shabaab militants could be planning a major attack.

Agencies operating in the border area have been put on standby due to reports that the terrorists were gathering in El-Ade area.

Police spokesman Charles Owino yesterday said officers had identified a suspect in last week's attack in which three teachers were killed in Arabia area, Mandera County.

He named the suspect as Hassan Hodey a Somali national from Damasa,

“Security agencies are also on alert for any possible attack by the militants targeting security installations and any other soft targets along the border between Mandera and Elwak,” he said.

He added that in the past two weeks, the militants had been converging close to the Kenyan border. The buildup has been evident in Hola, Dura, Jidahaley, Juma and Ilkabere.

Ongoing purge

The militants' movement towards the Kenyan border is attributed to the ongoing purge on their bases in Somalia by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Mr Owino asked the public, particularly the people living along the border, to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement by individuals or groups to the nearest security personnel.

On October 11, an operation in El-Ade centre left 20 Al Shabaab militants dead and two vehicles mounted with machine guns destroyed.

Other sources said Al Shabaab militants were on October 13 summoned to El-Ade by their commander, Abdirahman Fillow, who is said to have assembled 400 fighters.

Kenya Defence Force (KDF) went to Somalia in October 2011. The incursion started after the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers at the Dadaab refugee camp.