Kenya Police, US embassy warn of impending Al Shabaab attack in Nairobi
The Kenya Police and the United States Embassy in Nairobi have warned of an impending terrorist attack at a Nairobi Hotel.
In a message on their website to its citizens, the embassy advises them to be vigilant.
“Terrorist groups may be plotting an attack against a major hotel in Nairobi. The exact hotel has not been identified, but it is believed to be a hotel popular with tourists and business travellers,” the embassy said.
At the same time, the Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai has appealed to members of the public to share information with security agencies and assured Kenyans of safety amid fears of an impending terror attack in Nairobi or elsewhere in the country.
Mutyambai called for extra vigilance but said the National Police Service has deployed adequately in areas at risk of criminal targets.
Instigated criminal activities
“We have enhanced police deployment in our cities, towns and particularly in those parts of the country where criminal elements have occasionally instigated criminal activities,” Mutyambai said.
‘However, we wish to caution the public to be extra vigilant even as police and other security agencies continue to work round the clock to ensure the safety of our country and Kenyans at large. The National Police Service has increased border surveillance to ensure that criminal elements are cut from entering the country.”
Around Nairobi, intelligence and mainstream security personnel have been seen around major hotels, shopping malls and public places identified as possible targets across Nairobi.
Intelligence officers are discreetly monitoring activities in areas suspected to be easy targets.
Uniformed officers including the Administration Police Service’s Rapid Deployment Unit’s commandoes and GSU officers are stationed in strategic places while others are doing rounds in different places in Nairobi in a show of force.
Last year, DusitD2 Hotel on Riverside Drive in Westlands area was attacked by Al Shaabab militants and left 21 people dead and hundreds injured.
The alerts come just a month after United Kingdom issued a travel advisory for its citizens travelling to Kenya, following an attack at Manda Bay that left three US nationals dead.
The advisory, through the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), asks UK citizens to avoid certain areas of the country, mainly those along the Somalia border.
Suspected Al Shabaab militants attacked a military base in Manda Bay leaving one US service member and two Department of Defense contractors dead.