Police question seven on suspicion of terrorism

Seven terror suspects were arrested in Mombasa in a sting operation by police officers.

They were apprehended on Friday night in Kizingo and Mtwapa and are being held at the Coast regional police headquarters for interrogation.

Urban OCPD Lucas Ogara said two of the suspects - who were identified as Salim Mohamed, 21, and Nasra Hyder, 26, - were arrested after they were deported from Turkey.

"The two suspects were deported from Turkey and they entered Mombasa on Thursday. We received information that they were on a mission to join ISIS and we raided their house and arrested them.

"No country is ready to let them in [and] that is why they (the two suspects) were rejected," Mr Ogara said.

He added that Nasra is a relative to some of the other suspects.

The OCPD said police are yet to establish the suspects' plans.

"We did not find them with anything but we are interrogating them. We are following crucial leads and we believe we are going to get more from them so that we can go for their accomplices if [there are] any," he said.

The arrests come amid high police alert.

He advised youth not to entertain the idea of joining terror networks because they will not benefit.

"Let them know that we are on top of things. The youth in Mombasa should come to their senses and reject terrorism because they will go nowhere," he added.

A few days ago, police released the names and photographs of seven men suspected of carrying out attacks in Mandera County.

And a Sh2 million bounty for information on the whereabouts of each of them was announced.

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This story has been updated to reflect the OCPD's statement that seven, not eight, suspects were arrested.