Kenyan police on high alert over imminent attack

Kenyan police said on Wednesday that they are on high alert after intelligence reports had indicated of an impending terror attack by Al-Shabaab affiliate group Jeysh Ayman in the coastal region.

Military spokesman David Obonyo said they intensified border patrols along Kenya and Somalia to deal with Al-Shabaab threats in the region.

"We have intensified surveillance along the borders to thwart any attempts by the Al-Shabaab to sneak into the country to carryout their heinous attacks," Obonyo said by telephone.

The militant group was flushed out of the vast Boni forest in Lamu in ongoing Kenya Defence Force (KDF) led operation launched by the government last month.

On Tuesday the government released photographs of five wanted terror suspects behind the plot. Two of the five have been traced to terror cell that operated in Mombasa and blamed for series terror attacks.

National Intelligence Service (NIS) reports indicate that Shamin Wanjiru Hussein, 26, a possible female suicide bomber and Ramadhan Kioko could be plotting the attacks before December holiday.

The two are part of Jeysh Ayman Al-Shabaab group that had camped in Boni forest Lamu before they were flushed out by multi-agency team in operation Okoa Boni forest (safe boni).

Wanjiru established network with local terror cell while staying in a one bedroom house in Bombululu, the coastal region, between 2011 and 2012 before travelling to Somalia early this year.

She is currently married to Al-Shabaab operative linked to Ayman group in Somalia, Omar Patroba Juma who was among the group that attacked Baure military camp in Lamu in June.

According to the police report, Kioko operates within Majengo area and is among radical youth behind the forceful takeover of Mosques and killing of moderate Muslim clerics in 2013.

Intelligence report indicates that Kioko was injured during the June botched raid at KDF camp in Baure Lamu where at least 11 Al-Shabaab were killed including British Jihadist Thomas Evans.

"We suspect Kioko is now fully recovered and still in the country planning and coordinating terror attack targeting unspecified parts of the country mainly key installation and security agents," a senior intelligence officer said.

Other members of the group include Omar Owiti, and Anwaw Yogan Mwok operating in both Nairobi and Mombasa.

Leaders of Al-Shabaab terror cells including Mohammed Soshi and Luqman Mohammed have been linked to the recent killings of security agents and perceived State informers within coastal city of Mombasa.

The U.S. government on Tuesday lifted advisories to coast region but cautioned its citizens against visiting Old Town in Mombasa, during the night.

Meanwhile, the government said the Al-Shabaab threat that has plagued Lamu County for over two years has been eliminated.

County Commissioner Fredrick Ndambuki said the combined force of the Kenya Defence Forces and the police have been able to secure the Boni forest, through Operation Linda Boni which is in its second month.

The operation was intended to flush out Al-Shabaab militants who were suspected to be hiding in the forest. Ndambuki said that the operation has been successful because no single Al-Shabaab militant was sighted.

"I want to assure Lamu residents and Kenyans at large that the Boni forest is now secure. The Al-Shabaab attacks in the county are a thing of the past," said Ndambuki in Lamu.

He added that efforts to secure the Kenya-Somalia border are on-going and the government is keen ensure that Al-Shabaab militants crosses over into Kenya. Endit