Police arrest suspected terrorists at JN airport

Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) 

By Katare Mbashiru and Boniphace Meena

Posted  Monday, October 7  2013 at  00:00

In Summary

The Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it claimed was in vengeance against Kenya for its military involvement Somalia.

Dar/Nairobi. Police are holding two Pakistani nationals suspected to be terrorists, The Citizen has been informed.

The two were arrested at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) a few minutes before boarding a Nairobi-bound Kenya Airways Flight yesterday morning.

The suspects have been identified as Mr Abutaha Hamza, holder of Passport Number 2995160, and Mr Mohammed Alnems who holds Passport Number 3085812.

However, there were conflicting details on the exact reasons that led to the arrest of Mr Hamza and Mr Alnems.

While the police maintained that their arrest was just a regular procedure whenever there is any passenger who displays what relevant authorities see as suspicious or if one has violated certain airport regulations, the Kenya Airways crew raised the red flag when “they noticed unusual movements” during the boarding time.

Following the arrest, Nairobi immediately dispatched a team of officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) who arrived yesterday and joined their counterparts in Dar es Salaam in interrogating the suspects.

A reliable source told The Citizen that initially, the two Pakistanis were booked in the Kenya Airways Flight Number KQ487 that was to leave Dar es Salaam at 7.30pm on Sunday, but were arrested while boarding the 5am flight. The Citizen could not independently verify how the suspects managed to access the international departure lounge and finally got their way into the Nairobi-bound plane while their tickets indicated that their flight was at 7.30pm yesterday.

They were arrested having “forced their way into the passengers’ cabin.” Tanzania’s airport police boss, Mr Suleiman Hamis, confirmed to The Citizen about the arrest but declined to give details.

When The Citizen asked him to explain why the men were arrested, the police chief responded: “It is normal to arrest and question people whose behaviour is suspicious or who contravene airport security rules.”

Sources said the Pakistan nationals were arrested after the Kenya Airways crew noticed they were behaving in a “rather suspicious manner” shortly before the plane left for Nairobi. They were later detained for interrogation by the Tanzanian police. According to Mr Hamis, the authorities, including Immigration officials, would join Kenyan officers in interrogating the two.

The suspects were on transit via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, but, their final destination was not immediately established.

Their arrest comes just two weeks after terrorists carried out a deadly attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, killing 67 people and injuring hundreds.

That was when heavily armed gunmen, suspected to be members of Al-Shabaab terrorist organisation, stormed the upscale shopping establishment in Kenya’s capital. It took the country’s security forces three days to end the siege. The attackers held hostages and later engaged in gun battles with security forces. Over 200 people were reportedly wounded in the senseless mass shooting.

The Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it claimed was in vengeance against Kenya for its military involvement Somalia.

Many media outlets also reported that the insurgent group’s involvement in the attack was traceable to earlier warning it had issued in the wake of Kenya’s Operation Linda Nchi (Operation Protect the Country) that kicked off in 2011.

Already, President Uhuru Kenyata has formed a commission of inquiry to investigate into the deadly attack. In a televised end-of-the-month address on Friday, President Jakaya Kikwete expressed his concern on the growing terrorism activities across the region.

He urged Tanzanians to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities or persons, but was optimistic that the country’s security personnel were on permanent high alert. “We have instructed the owners of establishments that attract huge numbers of people to proactively install security cameras and look on the possibilities of ensuring that metal detectors and x-rays are available,’’ he said.

1998 bombing suspect arrested

In another development, US military forces yesterday arrested a prominent al-Qaeda leader in Tripoli who was involved in the planning and execution of the US embassies bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, in August 1998.

According to the UK’s Independent newspaper, troops described by witnesses as “commandos” seized al-Qaeda’s Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Anas al-Libi, outside his home following morning prayers.

The 49-year-old computer specialist Libi has been one of the FBI’s most wanted international criminals for more than a decade, because of his suspected involvement in the 1998 embassy bombings in Dar es Salam and Nairobi, which occurred simultaneously , and had a $5 million bounty on his head.

The man was parking his car when three vehicles approached, penning him in. Armed Special Forces operatives then smashed the car’s window, took Libi’s gun and bundled him into one of their vehicles before fleeing.

Whereas the capture of al-Libi comes in response to the bombing of US diplomatic missions in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, which killed 224 people, the failed al-Shabaab raid was a direct reaction to the Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi last month, the Independent Newspaper reported yesterday.

SOURCE: THE  CITIZEN