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Hunt on for 3 Al-Shabaab terrorists smoked out of Garissa hideout

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki during a tour of Samburu County on February 27, 2024. (Photo: Interior Ministry)

By Mary Wambui | 24 Mar 2024

Police said the hideout in Alango had been harbouring improvised explosive device (IED) experts.

Security agencies have launched a manhunt for three Al-Shabaab militants who fled with serious injuries after they were ambushed at their hideout in Alango, Garissa County, on Sunday morning.

Police said the hideout had been harbouring improvised explosive device (IED) experts.

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"During the successful operation, the security team recovered IED-making materials, an AK47 rifle, two magazines, porches and assorted foodstuffs," Counter Terrorism Policing KE posted on X, adding that the multi-agency team involved in the ambush had kicked off the search for the three fugitives.

Security agencies have appealed to Garissa residents to report any suspected terrorists for action to be taken in efforts to secure the country.

Another group of militants was ambushed at their hideout in Fafi on March 2, 2024, in an operation that led to the killing of five. Four were taken into police custody for questioning.

Local security agencies have increased their patrols and activities along the Kenya-Somalia border following a resurgence of Al-Shabaab activities in the neighbouring country.

In their recent attack, the group raided and overran a Somalia army camp at Busleey village, 40 kilometres from Mogadishu, where Somali security forces have set up temporary bases for operations against Al-Shabaab-dominated villages in the region, according to security sources.

In mid-March this year, the group attacked a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, killing three.

The government this week unveiled an assortment of equipment procured to aid the war against terrorism.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the equipment was for frontline officers currently deployed in Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in the North Eastern Region, the Boni Enclave, the Upper Eastern Region, and the North Rift Valley.

Kindiki said the government has, in the last six months, invested Sh7.6 billion into the project and will spend another Sh29.4 billion in the next three years under the Police Equipment Modernization Programme.

The initiative aims to acquire sophisticated protection and mobility equipment, including armoured personnel carriers, mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, armoured unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, gunship helicopters, and mine sweepers.