Isiolo police arrest terror suspects with bomb making materials

Police in Isiolo have arrested two terror suspects with bomb-making materials as security agencies intensified the war on crime in the region.

Isiolo County Criminal Investigations Officer David Cheruiyot and County Commissioner George Natembeya said the suspects were found with the materials in a house in the town.

One of the suspects is from Isiolo while the other is from western Kenya.

Mr Natembeya said the suspects, who are below 35 years old, are believed to have recruited two others to join Al-Shabaab and that the recruits were already in Somalia.

The two were nabbed by detectives on Wednesday.

Isiolo has been hit by rising radicalization, with dozens of young people believed to have crossed to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab.

Last week, Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Ndegwa Muhoro opened an Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) office in Isiolo, aimed at intensifying the war on terrorism in the upper eastern region.

He said the government would open another branch in Moyale and Marsabit towns to counter terrorists and illegal immigration from neighbouring countries.

Mr Muhoro said the offices are part of a government to rising cases of radicalization and violent extremism in the region.

He disclosed that terrorists were changing their routes and using the Modagashe-Garba, Tulla-Isiolo road after security was intensified along the Garissa-Nairobi highway.

“We want to make sure that all the areas used by terrorists are sealed to avoid attacks,” he said.

Mr Muhoro said although the ATPU is on the frontline of the war on terrorism, a government anti-radicalization strategy rolled out in the Coast region would be extended to the upper eastern region.

He called on parents and religious and political leaders to work with the government in dealing with radicalization and terrorism by monitoring the activities of young people.