Kenyan police arrest three Ethiopian “suicide bombers”
Nov 29, 2005 (NAIROBI) — Kenyan Police in Nairobi are holding three terror suspects allegedly found in possession of explosives, the daily Standard said.
The three Ethiopians were arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi last Tuesday 22 November on arrival from Addis Ababa. Detectives said they were headed for South Africa.
The detectives were investigating the three, who also had shoes that had switches and dry cells. “We suspect they are suicide bombers and we are interrogating them to establish their motive for having such shoes,” said a policeman.
The first suspect was seized at the screening point at the airport before his suspected accomplices were also caught. A team of detectives sent to Ethiopia to investigate the wired shoes, switches and dry cells returned at the weekend. They established that a number of people from the suspects’ locality had similar shoes but insisted on interrogating the three. The first suspect was arrested on Tuesday morning while the other two were arrested on Thursday.
Police said yesterday that they expect to make more arrests. Last month, four men were picked in Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate for allegedly funding terror activities. Three of the suspects operated a forex bureau while the fourth was a businessman importing second-hand goods from Dubai.
Anti-terror police boss Ireri Kamwende said they were still investigating.
The four had Kenyan passports and were later released without charges after several Muslim groups protested at their arrests.
(The Standard/ST)