Kenya arrests suspected al Shabaab fighter, recover weapons
Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa told a news
conference that four other suspects had escaped the raid, including two
militants from the Somali-based Islamist group wanted for major attacks on
Kenya since 2013.
"These men are behind major plots for attacks in the
country and are linked to the Garissa University and Lamu attacks," Marwa
said.
"They had planned to attack public beaches in Mombasa
during the New Year when there were many people, but they were deterred by the
level of security we had mounted there."
Al Shabaab killed 148 students in the attack on Garissa
University last April. In June 2014, the group killed 65 people over a 24-hour
period in and around Mpeketoni in Lamu county, also in Kenya's east. It was
also responsible for a raid on Nairobi's Westgate Mall in 2013 that killed 67
people.
Kenyan authorities have circulated pictures of suspected al
Shabaab and offered a 2 million shilling ($19,569.47) reward for
information leading to arrests.
Al Shabaab seeks to overthrow the Western-backed Somali
government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It has
frequently attacked neighbouring Kenya in recent years, saying it is
retaliating for Kenya's participation in an African Union peacekeeping force in
Somalia.
Marwa said the weapons seized on Tuesday included a Colt M4 rifle which had the same serial number as one stolen from a military base in Mombasa during an attack in early 2015.
Kenya arrests suspected al Shabaab fighter, recover weapons
Kenyan police arrested a suspected al Shabaab in Mombasa on Tuesday evening and recovered weapons that had been intended for use in aborted New Year's Eve attacks on the coastal city, a senior government official said.