Mohammed Yusuf NAIROBI, KENYA — (VOA NEWS) The Kenya Anti-Terrorism Unit gunned down a terror suspect on Tuesday. Security officers believe the slain suspect was behind a grenade attack in Nairobi on Sunday that injured four people.
Benson Kibui, Nairobi area police chief, said police had been trailing the terror suspect since Monday evening. He said they received a tip on where the man lived and then carried out a raid to arrest him.
“This morning we were able to zero on him at Eastleigh section 3. We ordered him to surrender but he couldn’t budge, we were able to get rid of him. And we got from him a pistol with ammunition and we identified this person is one of us, he is a Kenyan from western,” said Kibui.
Sunday’s attack took place in the Nairobi suburb of Majengo. The Somali militant group al-Shabab has long relied on an extensive funding and recruitment network in the suburb.
The militants have persuaded more than 500 Kenyan youths to fight alongside them, although with al-Shabab losing ground in Somalia, dozens of those youths have returned home.
According to Kibui, the suspect killed Tuesday had three names – two Christian names and one Islamic name, Najib Muhudin.
Kibui said police will not let up in their efforts to hunt down al-Shabab fighters and their sympathizers who are carrying out attacks in the country.
“We cannot say we are happy because they are many, but that’s an extra mile and we are looking forward to get more,” he said.
Despite the death of this latest terror suspect, police still have to convince Kenyans they are doing enough to protect them and their properties from terrorists and their sympathizers.
Kenya has faced a wave of attacks in the country since its troops crossed into Somalia in 2011.
