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Kenyan police launch manhunt for 2 terror suspects

Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenyan police on Friday released pictures of two terror suspects they believe are planning attacks in the country on unspecified dates.

Latest security alerts from Kenya's intelligence service said Musdaf Ismail Hashi and Ahmed Mohamed Abdullahi have been dispatched by Al-Shabaab senior commanders to ferry bombs into the country to carry out attacks in the country.

The alert notes that the militants are constantly coming up with new methods of concealing explosives which they intend to use for various attacks in the country.

"Following this discovery, police are alerting members of the public and especially those involved in public transport to be wary when they carry luggage. They should to carry out searches if they encounter any suspicious luggage," reads the report.

The authorities said on Friday security had been stepped up and appealed to residents to be extra vigilant and take security measures seriously, regardless of their status in society.

Since Kenya sent troops across the border into Somalia in October 2011, northern, eastern and parts of Nairobi and Mombasa have been hit by a series of blasts, many targeting local security forces and humanitarian workers.

The Kenyan soldiers in the UN-backed AU force have also intensified their offensive against the Al-Qaida allied terrorist group, pacifying some of the areas surrounding the capital including the strategic city of Kismayo.

The intelligence report notes that the insurgents have dispatched the two terrorists with bombs that resemble suitcases which they plan to smuggle into the country.

According to the report, Hashi is a confidant of Abdullahi who was arrested by undercover officers who stopped a commuter bus at in Thika, about 40 km east of Nairobi with explosives that included RDX, TNT and Potassium Nitrate.

Kenya's security agents have intensified the fight against Al- Shabaab following the various attacks that the terrorist group has executed in Kenya, especially in the wake of Garissa massacre.

"Part of the security efforts are aimed at ensuring that the operatives and explosives are intercepted before they get to their intended target," the report says.

Police particularly warned against the laxity in the screening of cars for explosives at all shopping malls and any business or social gatherings with at least 10 people at any given moment that these might be vulnerable to attacks. Endi