Kenyan police kill suspected Al-Shabaab returnee in Mombasa

Kenya's anti-terrorism detectives on Sunday killed a suspected Al-Shabaab returnee in the coastal town of Kwale.

The officers recovered a hand grenade, a thunder flash explosive and a detonating cord with a fuse. Local police boss Joseph Chebusi said Juma Mwamuraji, 44, was on police radar since his return from Somalia.

"The suspect was among the several returnees who were being trailed. We acted on intelligence reports and raided the home and managed to kill him," said Chebusi.

Chebusi said the suspect attempted to hurl the grenade to the officers but was shot dead.

According to 2016 statistics, Kwale County topped in Al-Shabaab returnees, followed by Kilifi, Mombasa and Lamu.

The region has recently witnessed a reduction of terrorism attacks attributed to the ongoing operation in Linda Boni forest in Lamu.

However, the police warn that terrorism still remains a major threat since Al-Shabaab have infiltrated the forest and use it as an operation base for recruiting and planning terror attacks in the region.

Recently, the government released names and photos of seven most wanted members of the Jaysh Aman cell operating from Boni and placed a 20,000 U.S. dollars bounty on each.

They are Idriss Issack, Mohamed, Abdullahi Diyat alias Ubeyd, Sharif Arab, Ahmed Mohammed alias Jerry, Andikadir Haret Mohammed Yusuf Kuno alias Abu Ali and Ahmed Bashir.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said the seven are believed to be operating on the Kenya-Somalia border and allegedly behind terror attacks in the northeastern region, particularly in Mandera County. Endit