In Kenya, eight law enforcement officials attached to the Mandera governor’s safety died when their vehicle struck an explosive device in the northeast of the country. The elected man, however, escaped unharmed. Meanwhile, three Kenyan policemen were killed by the explosion of a vehicle trapped in their vehicles in the east of the country.
The attacks have not been claimed, but they could be done by the shebab group, which is very active in eastern Kenya, while at the same time another extremist movement is talking about it: the Islamic state has Claimed his first suicide bombing in Somalia. On Tuesday evening, a suicide bomber activated his explosives jacket in the coastal town of Bosaso in the north of the country. Eighte dead, according to the police. An attack that proves the persistence of IE in this region.
For years, the Somali Islamist scene has been dominated by the shebabs affiliated with al-Qaeda. But following internal divisions, the movement suffered defections at the end of 2015.
It was at this moment that the figure of Abdulqadir Mumin emerged. Born in Puntland, the man went through Sweden and England where he acquired British nationality. In the early 2000s, he established a reputation as an inflamed preacher in London and Leicester, before joining Somalia and the Shebabs ranks in 2010.
Abdulqadir Mumin then actively participates in the propaganda movement. In 2014, without real military experience, he was propelled to the head of a shebab faction in Puntland. But, Abdulqadir Mumin finally changes camp in October 2015. He then joins the Islamic state.
A time limited to propaganda videos, this first Somali cell of the EI carried out a first major action in October 2016 with the taking of the coastal city of Qandala by dozens of armed men. Men dislodged in December by the forces of Puntland. In early February, the terrorist group claimed an armed attack on a hotel in Bosaso.
Suicide bombing is therefore a new step, even though it is difficult to talk about a rise in power. Experts point out that the influence of the movement remains low compared to that of the shebabs. The IA would have no more than 200 men at the moment.
-Rfi
