Intelligence reports say that Idris
Kamau, a Kenyan of Kikuyu ethnicity,
was the mastermind of the spate of
terror attacks in Lamu that have so
far claimed 87 lives. This information
is contained in a report prepared by
the National Intelligence Service
(NIS) and sent to police stations in
the Coast region on June 4.
The alert also indicated that a
former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF)
soldier, Abu Jamal, is in charge of a
cell of the Al Shabaab fighters in
Mombasa said to be planning more
attacks in the region.
The report said Kamau and his group
of fighters are currently hiding in
the depths of the vast Boni Forest,
where they are believed to have set
up an operations camp.
The alert said that the attackers
were planning to carry out more
raids in Mokowe and Kipini in Lamu
County, Ijara, Garsen and Malindi in
Kilifi County on unspecified dates.
The brief report, which has been
seen by The Standard on Sunday,
further warned that the planned
attack in Malindi is to be a massive
one involving about 150 fighters
divided into three groups. It further
warned that the two field
commanders of the terror group are
planning to recruit more Muslim
youth in Mombasa to undergo
training for their jihadist causes at
an unestablished location in or near
the port city.
We could not immediately establish
further details about the two Al
Shabaab commanders from security
forces who became uncooperative
when we asked for further
clarification. Although the officers
were not given pictures of the two
suspects, the names constitute a
major development in unravelling
the mystery of the attackers who
have struck fear in the hearts of
Lamu residents.
