The Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat Shabaab al Mujahideen conducted 2 attacks targeting civilians travelling in trucks, killing 3 and kidnapping 3 others in Falama and Jabibar areas of upper NEP, along the common border with Somalia.
- At Falama the terrorists hijacked a construction truck, kidnapped the driver and his crew (1 adult male) before torching and burning the truck.
- At Jabibar, the terrorists hijacked a lorry with 5 occupants, killing 3 and sparing the female passenger. The particular group kidnapped the lorry driver.
These unspectacular terrorist attacks are of interest to Strategic Intelligence CT analysts. The come days after false reports in Kenyan media about presence of United States Special Counter Terrorism Operators at Wajir Kenya Army Airbase. There are no US-SF operating in Wajir MAB or KDF camp in that area. Kenya Security Agencies have a para-military unit known as the Special Operations Group (SOG) largely drawn from elite police units and ‘thoroughly trained in counter terrorism’ at para-military level. The particular unit is able to conduct kinetic operations and rapid counter terrorism operations with Army Special Forces precision and have been core in combating and degrading the Al-Shabaab terrorists group along the border with Somalia.
Today’s Shabaab al Mujahideen attacks were probing attacks, conducted within proximal of the alleged US-SF camp, objectively to draw the US-Army operators attention, physical presence, or fire. Whereas there’s none, the terrorist group demonstrated its capability to stage coordinated attacks outside its traditional operating areas. The group continues to exploit local sociopolitic’s and socioeconomics to outbid local administrations in a bid to entrench its violent and radical politico-religious ideology. The attacks are ‘demonstrative’ and the audience largely the local communities and the United States Army besides Kenya Security Services.
Such terrorists attacks, however, hardly impact state agencies resolve to escalate counter terrorism operations both pragmatically and philosophically. Kenya remains one of the most unique examples of successful Counter Terrorism and CVE, with bulk of these success based on domestic strategies by the intelligence service.
