Nairobi — The Special Operations Group (SOG), the Administration Police elite unit on Monday successfully recovered a cache of weapons after engaging in a fierce gun battle with suspected members of the AL Qaeda-linked terrorist outfit Al-Shabaab in Garissa County.
The National Police Service (NPS) said Tuesday, that the SOG officers, who were conducting a routine foot patrol, stumbled upon a makeshift camp believed to be housing suspected Al-Shabaab militants, triggering a shootout.
The militants fled the scene, abandoning a significant stockpile of weapons.
"On 22 May 2023, at around 1100hrs while along Diiso, Biamthow SOG Officers on patrol found fresh foot prints at Billow Dam and after tracking the footprints for about 2.7 KMS, where they came across a makeshift camp with about 10 suspected Alshabaab militants engaged in a shootout, and the militants escaped," NPS said Tuesday.
Among the weapons recovered were two Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs) with seven warheads, along with six AK47 rifles accompanied by 20 magazines.
The security agents also seized a PKM Machine gun with a belt of 200 rounds, two hand grenades, materials for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a cell phone, and a memory card.
Police have initiated an operation to apprehend the suspects.
Two months ago, on March, police in Garissa recovered two fire arms, five magazines and 98 rounds of ammunition following a tip off from the members of the public.
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Garissa County Commissioner Boaz Cherutich said that two people were arrested in connection with the incident pointing out that the suspects will be arraigned in court on Friday.
He called on the citizens to work together with security agencies to get rid of illegal weapons in the county which he attributed to the rising cases of insecurity.
"I would like to laud the police officers who took part in this operation and Wananchi for giving us the information that led to this arrest. I urge the residents to continue collaborating with security agencies to hep us deal with the criminal elements who have continued to disrupt peace in Garissa," Cherutich said on March 3.
He warned that security agencies will step up their operation in the border county to ensure those in possession of illegal weapons are brought to book.
The ongoing conflict in the neighboring Somalia has been blamed to the proliferation of firearms in parts of the Northern region and other parts of the country.
