Thirty-seven suspected terrorists, among them members of the Islamic State (ISIS), have been detained throughout East Africa, including Kenya, in recent months, as reported by Interpol.
Interpol announced on January 27, 2025, in a statement, that Kenya detained almost half of the suspects at 17.
Further, the statement mentioned that the suspects were connected to ISIS, terrorism financing networks and foreign terrorist fighters. The detentions were carried out during a joint operation with AFRIPOL and eight regional partners.
According to Interpol, in Kenya, police detained 17 individuals, including two suspects of being members of ISIS and other foreign terrorist fighters, besides some others engaged in terrorism financing, radicalisation and propaganda.
The operation was carried out between November and December 2024 and sought out individuals associated with terror outfits like ISIS, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Al-Shabaab.
During the mission, some of the objects that were seized included firearms, heavy weapons, and munitions, thereby disrupting activities to gather funds and propagate extremist beliefs.
Before the operation, each nation developed a comprehensive operational plan, which gathered information about terror-related targets and their locations.
AFRIPOL and INTERPOL played key roles in consolidating, evaluating, and sharing this intelligence with the involved countries, ensuring a coordinated response.
A tactical phase took place during which each country executed strategic probes and attacks with active backing from AFRIPOL and INTERPOL officers, who delivered logistical coordination and real-time data research on the ground. In addition, officers at airports, ports and land crossings were provided with Interpol Mobile Devices, allowing real-time access to global records of suspected terrorists and misappropriated travel records.
Additionally, over five days, officers executed 88,000 checkpoints, recognising 15 individuals wanted for offences such as murder, human trafficking and fraud. A total of 32 arrests were made as a result of this, not related to terrorism.
Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo apprehended potentially four members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and two collaborators. Security authorities also captured and eliminated a missile and anti-tank apparatus dumped by suspected terrorists. In Somalia, officers captured three individuals, including a supposed bomb maker from an Al-Shabaab Amniyaat unit, accountable for producing Improvised Explosive Devices targeting law enforcement and military personnel.
Furthermore, another convict is believed to be an Al-Shabaab detective connected to several raids on police checkpoints utilising hand grenades. As a result, law enforcement in Tanzania imprisoned a suspected ISIS Mozambique associate and a Ugandan national seeking to join a terrorist outfit in Mozambique as a foreign terrorist soldier.
