Two people accused of being part of an Islamic State group extremist cell of medics attempting to launch an anthrax attack in the country have been arrested, Kenyan police said Monday.
A statement from the Anti-Terror Police Unit says police on Sunday arrested Mohamed Shukri Yerrow, an intern doctor at Malindi sub-county hospital, along with Abdulrazak Abdinuur following a tip-off from members of the public.
The alleged leader of the cell, Mohammed Abdi Ali, a medical intern in Makueni county, and his wife, a medical student in Uganda, were arrested in May.
Police say two other medics are missing. However some rights activists have suggested that police could be involved in their disappearance.
Kenya is struggling to battle the Islāmic State group’s recruitment of some of the country’s youths. At least 20 young Kenyans have travelled to Libya to join the extremist group, according to police.
Authorities fear that the Islāmic State is trying to set up a presence in Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy and telecommunications and transport hub. Al-Qaeda has long had a presence in Kenya through its affiliation with neighbouring Somalia’s extremist group al-Shabaab.
There is concern that those who join ISIS and al-Qaeda will be used to launch attacks on Western targets in Kenya and neighboring countries.
Al-Shabaab has used the hundreds of Kenyan youths in its ranks to launch attacks like the April 2015 attack at Garissa University which killed more than 148 people.
