Roundup: Kenyan police interrogating 8 terror suspects arrested in coastal region

Kenyan police said Wednesday they are interrogating eight terror suspects who were arrested in the past two days in the coastal town of Malindi as authorities heighten security surveillance across the East African nation.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said four suspects were arrested on Tuesday during a security operation conducted in Malindi to flush out suspected Al-Shabaab operatives who were planning a terror attack in the tourism resort town.

"During the operation, members of the public tipped the police of suspicious persons assembled in a house located at Breeze Point in Malindi. Four suspects were promptly arrested while one Rashid Sultan Mbarak who engaged the police in a shootout was shot dead," Boinnet said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

He said the first suspect, Hamud Majid Hamud was disarmed and the pistol secured while four other suspects escaped the dragnet.

The police chief said the four suspects who had escaped police dragnet at their hideout were later arrested on Wednesday in Malindi and their car impounded.

"One police officer suffered gunshots during the operation and is recovering in hospital. The eight suspects are in custody waiting to be arraigned before court of law," Boinnet said.

During the security operation, the police recovered eight rounds of 38 mm special, one laptop, six mobile phones, 18 photocopies of identification cards belonging to various people and 15 passport size photos bearing different names.

"Initial investigations revealed that this terror cell is part of the Al-Shabaab's Jaysh Ayman group that is operating in Boni forest with plans to launch terror attacks in the country," Boinnet said.

Those arrested on Wednesday were identified as Sultan Ali Sultan, Imran Hassan Ahmed, Shamir shamsha Mohamed and Nasur Sultan Mbaraka.

The others are Hamud Majid Hamud, Khamis Hemed Khamisi, Hamza Juma Khamisi and Abdullaziz Ali Sultan.

Sources said some of the suspects are believed to have travelled to Malindi from Mombasa last week on a mission to recruit youths into the terror network.

The police have also circulated their photos, appealing to the public to remain vigilance and report any suspicious persons or activities to the security officers.

The police have enhanced security following several insecurity incidences at the coast and police have asked Kenyans across the country to report irregular activities by calling 999, 112 visiting the nearest police station or any administrative office.

The arrests come after the Kenya Defence Forces on Wednesday morning killed four Al Shabaab terrorists who attempted to launch an attack near its military base in neighbouring Lamu County.

The terrorists were being pursued after they conducted a probing attack on a KDF camp in Mangai area on Tuesday evening, still within the county.

The East African nation is reeling from a spate of terrorist attacks targeting innocent civilians in places of worship, shopping malls and restaurants.

Kenya's coastal towns are the backbone of the country's thriving tourism industry, which has been hit by the fear of terror attacks and the kidnapping of foreigners by Somali pirates from resorts near the border with Somalia.

Tourism has suffered a decline in the number of tourists arriving since September 2011 when the Somali militant group, the Al-Shabaab, carried out the kidnappings of tourists in the Lamu archipelago and the kidnapping of the Spanish volunteers. Endit