The Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat Shabaab Mujahideen continues to follow through instructions issued by Al-Qaeda Central to attack and destroy critical infrastructure by destroying a communications mast and medical center at Diiso village in Fafi area of Garissa County, middle –North Easter Kenya on the morning of December 4th 2019. The Safaricom owned telecommunications base transmission mast and its entire system include the power generator and security perimeter were bombed by the terror group.
The group exploited the torrential rains and persistent bad weather to insert a small cell in the area and subsequently equipped it through a local cell. The attackers harassed village dwellers before withdrawing from the area. Destruction of communication masts is an act of sabotage and is exploited to allow cells to move to different vantage points or withdraw from them. Poor or zero communication networks inhibits field intelligence from passing critical information to bases and intelligence teams for action thus giving the militants a window to successfully move in or out of a zone.
The group exploits such incidents to amplify its propaganda objectives. The group exploits social media and websites to publish and distribute the propaganda. Exaggerated accounts of events are used by both sympathetic and mainstream media as news. The group will claim the attack was an act of occupation whereas a local cell backed by a group of 10 or less militants operating in the border forests was responsible.
