Kenya Security Agencies Foil Massive Weekend Terror Attack Plotted by Mohamed Kuno Gamadheere

EVENT SUMMARY

2 Terrorists cell-operators under instructions from Garissa University terror attack mastermind Mohamed Kuno Gamadheere were arrested and a cache of arms and highly destructive explosives including hand grenades recovered in Garissa, the headquarters of the frontier county of Garissa, N-Eastern Kenya.

2 Members of the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen terror movement managed to escape. GOK Security officers mounted an operation on Sunday to track  them down.

ASSESSMENT

On the 3rd week of August 2015, Kenya security intelligence service provided warnings of plots of terror attacks besides movement of both terrorists cells and arms into a safe-house in Garissa town, the headquarters of Garissa County.

On Friday and Saturday 21st and 22nd respectively the Government of the Republic of Kenya conducted a security inter-agency led operation to preempt the terror threat and effectively destroy the terrorists cells.

According to intelligence reports, the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen movement senior operations commander in Juba, Mohamed Kuno Gamadheere contacted his operations operator in Liboi. The intelligence service gave actionable intelligence about advanced plans to conduct attacks on non-Muslim Congregations in the NEP and Coastal Kenya.

Kenya has scaled up operations against the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen movement terror cells near its border with Somalia and inside the country.

The successful preemption of such a massive terror attack provides a comprehensive preview of a working strategy, good collection of actionable intelligence, and proper early warning and awareness programs by the Kenya Intelligence Service besides the security agencies.

Security agents and officers tasked with conducting counter terrorism operations seem to have now mastered conducting successful operations against terrorists cells.