Shabaab militia reveals to detectives details of a copycat attack

Nyaboga Kiage An Al Shabaab deserter has revealed details of how the terrorist group planned to stage an attack on a para-military installation in far-flung Mandera county on September 13. The plan, according to Khalif Abdinoor Mohamed, 25, was to attack the Elram Anti-Stock Theft Unit camp to commemorate the first anniversary of a similar attack exactly one year ago, in which the militants killed five police officers in a rocket propelled grenade attack. Such kind of actions, in security parlance, are known as copycat attacks. Mohamed, who participated in the El Adde attack, which left about 150 Kenyan soldiers dead in 2016, surrendered to local security officials early this week after deserting the militia group. He has since shared details of the terror group’s activities and plans with security agencies. Before he surrendered, Mohamed was a highly trained fighter in the Mihajiruun brigade, which is a faction of the Al Shabaab operating on the Kenyan-Somalia border. Sources in the security services say the brigade has been responsible for a number of attacks that have been witnessed in the vast North Eastern region in the recent past. Information obtained from Mohamed, according to security sources who sought anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, revealed that the Mihajiruun brigade comprises 30-36 jihadists but splits into smaller groups of up to 12 members when conducting attacks. Militants in this brigade receive high-level training lasting up to 18 months, mainly on how to conduct recce on camps and conduct assassinations. To evade detection and ambush by enemy fighters, mainly the Kenya Defence Forces, the militants limit their operations in an area to a maximum of three days. It is often difficult for detectives to trail the fighters as they are well trained on Global Positioning System (GPS) with technicians monitoring their phones from the Kukumo headquarters in Somalia. Mohamed has told Kenyan detectives that two technicians are attached to the brigade at any given time. Brigade’s fighters, Mohamed revealed, are mostly members who are currently training at Saretha Kulmiye Training School and also in Buale where they are trained on how to use mobile phones without being traced easily, how to conduct recce and stage assassinations. He further told of a high presence of the fighters in Borehole 11, Khorof Harar, Elram, Konton and Cowsqurun, adding that the group still plans to launch attacks on Kenyan soil. Security experts, Kevin Moenga and George Musamali yesterday warned Kenyan authorities not to let their guard down, saying there could be attacks in the pipeline. According to Musamali, authorities should milk more information from the deserter, which it should scrutinise carefully. “He should also tell the officers the strength, weapons, how they train and their plans on future attacks within Kenyan soil,” he said. He, however, warned that the militia group had developed new tactics including using their own to purport to “surrender” to Kenyan authorities with a view to infiltrating the security agencies. “Such militants are known as double agents, and it is now a common trick used by militants to divert the attention of the authority,” Mr Musamali warned. In relation to the planned attack on Elram (ASTU), Musamali warned there was a possibility that the militant had been asked to divert the attention of the police and asked authorities in Northern Kenya to remain vigilant. Moenga, on his part, counseled caution, warning that the militants occasionally used the “surrender” tactic to mine information from the enemy. He warned that chances were high that the militant who gave himself in was a double agent. “Police should monitor his ways of operations after grilling him for days since he might end up gaining their trust and eventually turn against them,” he warned. In addition, he said it was important that the police seek to question family members of the deserter with a view to getting more intelligence about him. He gave an example of a militant, Michael Adebalajo, who surrendered to British authorities only to later kill a police officer.

Shabaab militia reveals to detectives details of a copycat attack

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Shabaab militia reveals to detectives details of a copycat attack

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