Two suspected members of a terror cell were this morning gunned down by the police who raided their hideout at Hawinga in West Alego, recovering two guns that were earlier this week snatched from policemen escorting examinations a few kilometres away.
The third suspect suffered injuries and was rushed to Siaya county referral hospital.
According to the county security bosses, led by Siaya deputy county commissioner, Robert Ng’etich and the county police commander, Kleti Kimaiyo, an intelligence led operation that brought in specialised teams from Busia, CID headquarters and Siaya led to the success of the operation.
Kimaiyo said that through the support of the public, they were able to identify the house that the suspects were hiding in and when they moved in and knocked, the suspects responded by firing at them.
‘Our officers took cover and responded immediately, fatally gunning down the two,’ said the police boss.
He said that a search in the house found several copies of the Quran and other Islamic w
ritings and a list containing names of suspected members of the group.
This, the officer said, was an indication of the existence of a cell that was engaged in radicalisation activities.
Other things found in the house were a spear, a solar light, several clothing among others.
He said that investigations were going on to flush out the remaining members of the cell, among them the owner of the house who escaped the police dragnet.
Siaya deputy county commissioner, Robert Ng’etich hailed the cooperation between the public and the security agents that led to the neutralisation of the suspects who attacked and killed a policeman and left another with serious injuries as they took off with their guns.
On Monday, police officers escorting examination papers to Mahero secondary school were ambushed a few metres from the school gate by two people. The two policemen and an examination official had been dropped at the tarmac along the Siaya – Nyadorera road due to poor condition of the road and were walking to th
e school when two panga wielding thugs emerged from the thickets and without word, started hacking the officers.
The villagers said that the surprised policemen were not given a second to respond despite having guns.
In the ensuing melee, the examination official took off and sought refuge in a nearby homestead, with the examination papers tightly tucked on his chest.
Source: Kenya News Agency