Kenyan police probe killing of two terror suspects

Kenyan authorities on Monday launched an investigation into the mysterious death of two wanted terror suspects.

The two were killed and dumped in Naivasha County, 90 km northwest of Nairobi.

One of the suspects, Fatuma Mohamed Masou, had a 20,000 U.S. dollar bounty on her head. She escaped police dragnet in Mombasa in 2015.

Masou, the wife of terrorist Kassim Omondi, who was killed in a police raid in 2013, was accused of hiding yet another terrorist, Ishmael Shosi. Shosi was killed by police in September 2016 in Mombasa.

The other wanted terror suspect was Farid Omar Awadh, who had been on the run for almost two years.

Awadh and Masou are suspected of recruiting and funding terror activities in Kenya.

The two were killed on Friday.

Police spokesman George Kinoti said on Monday that detectives will probe circumstances leading to the killing. He denied claims that security forces were involved in the alleged extrajudicial killing of the two.

"We have launched investigation to establish the motive of the killing with possibility of apprehending those involved in the cold-blooded murder," Kinoti said. "It's too early to accuse our agents without proof."

Sources indicate that the two might have been abducted by unknown gunmen before they decided to execute them. Family members of the two did not attend their burial in Naivasha.

A senior National Intelligence Service officer said Awadh was on the police radar over alleged recruitment for and funding of terrorism activities. Awadh's family denied that he had terrorism links.

There have been accusations that anti-terror police units were involved in forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of terror suspects. Endit