MOGADISHU – Somali police soldiers have arrested an Islamic State member following operations in Mogadishu.
The detainee, whose name has been released as Jama Hassan Hussein, was nabbed by the police during crackdown in the capital, according to policeman Ahmed Nour Mohamed.
Mohamed says the soldiers had successfully captured Hussein during an operation, adding that he was member of Al Shabaab but being defected to ISIL group in Somalia.
“Hussein was displayed in Mogadishu. he will be handed to National Intelligence and Security Agency for further interrogations”, he said
There was no immediate comment from ISIL group over the claims made by Somali police in Mogadishu. This is the first time the somali police admitted the presence of ISIL terrorist cells in Somalia.Pro-Islamic State militants have been claiming responsibility for series of attacks in Afgoye since the second half of last year. One of the attacks in January took place last week with pro-IS militants claiming they killed a finance officer.
Reporting by Abdirisak Mohamud Tuuryare from Mogadishu, Somalia
