Kenyan security agencies have stepped up vigilance following reports that Islamic State militants (ISIS) are trying to set up base in Somalia.
A senior security official said the militants have been crossing from Yemen and are training in readiness for mass attacks.
The source said the militants have also been receiving arsenal and financial support.
“The weapons’ shipment was delivered to the group from Mukallah City in Hadhramaut (Yemen). They also include uniforms, weapons and trainers,” said the official who asked not to be named.
On Tuesday, Somali commandos overran an ISIS training base in Janale, in Middle Shabelle region and destroyed it. A number of foreign militants who were there were killed.
According to the Somali media reports, many pro-ISIS trainees in the camp were killed. The commandos are still hunting down their trainers and leaders believed to be within the vicinity.
ISIS in Somalia is an off-shoot of Al Shabaab. Some Al Shabaab fighters led by Sheikh Muumin decamped recently to create a small pro-ISIS group in Somalia.
The defections have created greater enmity between the two factions.
Two weeks ago, the so-called Islamic State claimed to have carried out its first attack in Somalia on a Africa Union military convoy in the outskirts of Mogadishu.
Since last year, ISIS has been wooing Al-Shabab’s leadership to cut ties with Al-Qaeda.
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