Five hundred and sixteen suspected ISCAP terrorists detained in Tanzania since the cross-border attack in mid-October have been extradited to Mozambique. The extradition was triggered by a recent MOU between Mozambique and Tanzania that will allow joint efforts in fighting the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP).
Intelligence indicates that the detainees were part of the group that allegedly attacked the Kitaya region, in Tanzania in October and are expected to face trial for their crimes in Mozambique. The detainees are comprised of various East African nationalities including Tanzanian, Mozambican, Somali, Ugandan, Burundian, Congolese, and Rwandan citizens.
Tanzania offers very fertile grounds for the establishment of an ISIS branch because it already has a significant jihadi presence of recruits who were unable to travel to Somalia to join al Shabaab or ISS. Tanzania is very strategically placed and can be used as a recruitment hub for jihadists across the East African region as evidenced in the composition of the arrested suspects. The southern region has significant local support from aggrieved communities especially in Mtwara and as such it is not a surprise that the region was the location for the first ISCAP attack in Tanzania.
