Cops Thwart Terror Attack on Ksh 143B Govt Project

Law enforcement officers thwarted a planned terror attack targeting a government project worth Ksh143 billion on Tuesday, November 22.

The attack was foiled following the arrest of a Kenyan national in Tana River County, who is believed to have provided information to the outlawed Al Shabaab terrorist group.

Reports indicated that the suspect was the mastermind of the attack which had targetted Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project in the North Eastern Region, Tana River and Lamu Counties, which was estimated to cost Ksh143 billion.

Members of the outlawed Al Shabaab sect in Mogadishu on May 19, 2021.

Coucil on Foreign Relations

“The suspects story confirms the police reports and investigations that he has over time been supplying the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terror group with information and in return receiving payments for the services,” the report read in part.

According to reports, the attack was aimed at sabotaging the LAPSSET project and other regional developments.

The suspect was linked to earlier attacks which were launched on the LAPSSET construction site where three motorbikes were burnt and seven civilians killed.

Further, cops indicated the suspect provided information to Al Shaabab that led to the burning of construction materials belonging to Chinese nationals involved in the LAPSSET project.

Security agencies revealed that the suspect had provided intelligence data to the extremist group on how to ambush security personnel in the country.

Preliminary reports disclosed that the suspect’s involvement with terrorism began in 2005 when he was radicalised.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned and charged with terrorism.

His arrest came hours after a lone gunman ambushed a military camp in Somalia, killing three peacemakers.

The attacker sprayed bullets at law enforcement officers before he was neutralised. The attack left five officers nursing serious injuries.

“We must be more careful and vigilant. As we near the festivities, we need to be very vigilant of our surroundings. 

“The terror threat is still rife and all measures should be taken to tame any plan,” a military officer, who sought anonymity, told the press.

A file photo of KDF soldiers during a patrol in Kotile town on the Garissa-Lamu-Somalia border, as part of the Linda Boni operation aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab terrorists.

File