Kenyan police arrest couple over al-Shabab links

NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan police said on Monday that they are holding a couple suspected to be financiers and logistical operatives for al-Shabab militant group.

The police said the 42-year-old Yassin Abdille Hussein, also known as Abu Sumeiya, and his wife, Fartun Mohammed Guleid, 41, were arrested in Eastleigh residential estate in Nairobi.

The two are believed to be accomplices of a key al-Shabab operative in Mandera, Abdiweli Mohamed Guleid, who was the mastermind of a November 2014 attack on non-Muslims on a bus, the police said in a statement.

The couple, who have various businesses whose finances are channeled to supporting militant activities, left Gedo region in Somalia and has been operating in Kenya using fake documents.

An inquiry on how they were able to open businesses and operate in the country under false documentation is also under investigation, with initial reports indicating that the two have been channeling funds to Guleid for over five years now.

Meanwhile, police are said to be hunting down five wanted terrorists from Wajir, in northeast Kenya, who are said to be operating under the command of Guleid.

"Our field officers are pursuing the suspects to effect their arrest. We however suspect they may have crossed over to Somalia to avoid capture. We therefore call upon members of the public to continue being vigilant and report in case they are sighted anywhere," the police statement said. Enditem