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Kenya shuts down social media accounts over terror recruitment

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenyan authorities on Tuesday announced the closure of several social media accounts allegedly used to recruit youth to join the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups.

The accounts on Twitter, whatsApp, instagram and Facebook were shut down by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation Department and National Intelligence Service as part of efforts to crack down online radicalization.

Kenya police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi told Xinhua that special unit of officers drawn from Cyber Crime Unit (CCU) were involved in the investigation and recommended the closure.

Mwinyi said the accounts were engaged in online radicalization targeting young Islamic youth at various learning institution.

Mwinyi said the police are concerned about the high rate of online radicalisation now targeting young ladies who fall prey to join terror groups as jihad brides.

The security agencies are on high alert following reports the youth who had joined the Al-Shabaab terror group are back to wage terrorist attacks on unspecified dates and locations across the East Africa nation. Endi