Police have released an image of a suspected al-Shabaab militant believed to be the mastermind of the October 12th attack that killed 10 Kenyan security officers.
The 10 General Service Unit (GSU) officers, who were on a routine security patrol, died after the vehicle they were traveling in ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Garissa County near the Kenya-Somali border.
Police said the suspect identified as Abdullahi Banati was the leader of a team that planted the landmine, killing the officers stationed at the Harhar GSU camp.
Banati is said to have planned the attack together with al-Shabaab operatives based in the Daadab refugee camp.
Preliminary investigations showed Banati’s team operates along the Kenya-Somali border and has executed a number of attacks against the public and security forces in the past.
“Police have traced the activities of Banati and his team of militants to the border and it is suspected that he escaped to Somalia with the rest of the operatives,” said police in a statement.
Banati reportedly joined al-Shabaab in 2012 and was involved in the attack on a Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) camp in Baure in 2015 where 11 of his colleagues were killed.
Police have appealed to members of the public with any information about the suspect to report at the nearest police station immediately.
