NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the Uganda bomb attacks that killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television, an official said Friday.
The man was arrested at a police checkpoint Wednesday near the Kenya-Somalia border with a satellite phone and digital camera, Northeastern Provincial Commissioner James ole Seriani said.
Police say the man said he supported Somalia’s al-Qaida linked group, al-Shabab, despite his claim to be a member of the Ugandan army. Police officers are interrogating the man to determine his nationality, Seriani said.
Kenya beefed up its security along its porous border with Somalia after al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Sunday’s twin blasts in Uganda.
In a separate development, police in the Kenyan capital have arrested more than 100 foreigners in an operation aimed at clearing the city of illegal immigrants, said Nairobi police chief Anthony Kibuchi.
Kibuchi said the operation, which started late Thursday and will continue indefinitely, has netted Ethiopians, Somalis, Nigerians and Cameroonians.
“We are not targeting one community,” he said. “We are targeting everyone who is here illegally.”
Kenya, which has the most advanced economy in East Africa, is fearful that illegal foreigners in the country may compromise its security, a fear heightened by the recent attacks in Uganda.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.