Kenya: Police On Red Terror Alert After Kismayu Raid

Police said Tuesday they were on a high alert following intelligence reports of imminent terror attacks in the country since the Kenya Defense Forces entered Kismayu port in Somalia.
Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe announced that security forces had increased surveillance and urged the public to be on the look out for people with ulterior motives.
"We have intelligence reports in respect to terrorist threats from Al Shabaab and their sympathisers since KDF entered Kismayu," Kiraithe told a news conference Tuesday.
As a result, he said, "security forces in the country have heightened their surveillance to ensure the country is safe."
He said intelligence reports had shown that Al Shabaab was actively recruiting women to carry out attacks, including acting as suicide bombers.


"There has been a misconception that it is only men who carry out suicide bombings. But we have established that since Al Shabaab have learnt that there is a lot of attention on men, they are now recruiting women to carry out the attacks," he said and urged members of the public to be on the look out for women dressed in suspicious ways.
Such women, he said, should be thoroughly screened.
Kiraithe said they have established that most explosives--particularly grenades used in recent attacks are smuggled into the country from the lawless Somalia which is being liberated by the KDF and AMISOM allied forces.
Kenya has lately suffered several attacks, including Sunday's explosion that killed one child and wounded nine others at a church in Nairobi.
On Monday night, two Administration Police officers were gunned down by suspected Al Shabaab attackers as they patrolled the border town of Garissa--making it one of the most volatile parts of the country.
"We have also sensitised our officers internally to be alert at all times," he said.
Police headquarters has sent out an appeal to businessmen particularly those in the transport and hotel industry to always scrutinise their customers by verifying their identities, nationalities and their mission at respective places.
"Even if one has an identity card or passport, those documents should be thoroughly verified because some are fake," he said.

(published by Courtney Morgan)