German terrorism arrested in Tanzania
June 14, 2012
Acting Director of Criminal Investigations Isaya Mgulu said, Tanzanian security officials have alerted German officials of his imminent arrival.
Speaking to Tanzania's state radio Mgulu said that the suspect is a member of al- Qaida who has fought in Afghanistan.
The 24 year old German national of Turkish origin, was arrested in Tanzania on June 10 and has been hunted by the Kenyan police in connection with a May 28 bomb attack in Kenya.
He is believed to have entered Kenya from Somalia.
Speaking to DW on Wednesday Mgulu said that officials in Tanzania received a request from German authorities to extradite the terrorism suspect to the country for the purpose of questioning him for other crimes committed in the country.
"A thorough investigation has to be carried out first and a written statement has to be extracted from the suspect," Mgulu said.
“He is currently held by the defence and security services and we are questioning him in collaboration with security officers from Germany, Kenya and Uganda who arrived in the country purposely to gather information from him,” said Mgulu.
The arrested terrorism suspect is also believed to have travelled to Pakistan in early 2010, where he joined a militant Islamist group before going to Somalia last year. While in Somalia he is suspected of having joined the al Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab.
al-Shabab and foreign support
The ranks of al-Shabab include foreign fighters from Kenya, Europe, the Gulf, Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Horn of Africa country has become an increasingly prominent arena in the U.S.-led war fight against militant Islam.
Several foreigners are wanted by Kenyan police on suspicion of planning bomb attacks or ties to the al-Shabab, including another German national.
Kenya sent soldiers into Somalia in October to fight al Shabaab. Since then, there have been a string of grenade and bomb attacks in the capital Nairobi and the north of the country near the border with Somalia.
Earlier this month, the Ugandan police said they too were hunting for the detained suspect and another German terror suspect as they believed they had sneaked across the border from Kenya.
Author: Isaac Mugabi (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Asumpta Lattus