Kenya: 5 Suspected Bombers Killed at Ethiopia Border
October 20, 2014
(AP) - Kenyan and Somali soldiers killed five suspected Islamic extremist
bombers attempting to cross into the country from Ethiopia in a car laden
with explosives and six suicide vests, a Kenyan military spokesman said
Sunday.
Bogita Ongeri said authorities recovered 100kg (220 pounds) of TNT from the
vehicle which was intercepted at Dolo, along Kenya's border with Ethiopia on
Saturday.
Ongeri said security forces had been tracking the car which has Kenyan
registration and were aware that the suspected terrorists had unsuccessfully
attempted to gain entry into Kenya at another border point. He said the five
killed are suspected members of the Somali militant group al-Shabab, which
is allied to al-Qaida. Al-Shabab has vowed to carry violent terrorism in
Kenya because Kenyan troops are in Somalia fighting the militants. Kenya
sent its troops into Somalia in Oct 2011 to fight al-Shabab after the Kenyan
government blamed the extremist rebels for a series of cross-border attacks
including the kidnapping of four western nationals.
Al-Shabab are waging an insurgency against Somalia's weak U.N.-backed
government which is bolstered by African Union troops.
The militants claimed responsibility for the attack on Nairobi's Westgate
Mall a year ago in which more than 67 people were killed by four Somali
gunmen.
In March, Kenyan authorities with the help of the FBI, intercepted an SUV at
the Kenyan coast with 173 kilograms (381 pounds) of explosives. Kenya police
said two men, arrested March 11 in the car spoke on the phone with militants
in Somalia connected to the Westgate Mall attack.
Police believe the SUV was to be used as part of a three-pronged coordinated
attack on the Mombasa International Airport at the coast, the ferry crossing
and a shopping mall.