Police tumbles upon passport of most wanted criminal

By CYRUS OMBATI

Police are puzzled by the seizure of a passport of a man who masterminded the 2002 Kikambala bombing.

The passport bearing the name of Mr Issa Osman Issa, one of the most wanted terrorists in the region, was confiscated from a house in NairobiÕs Ushirika estate where two Tunisians and a couple were arrested at the weekend.

The couple and Tunisians have since been charged with immigration offences.

Anti-terror police who carried out the swoop said they are yet to know how the South African passport bearing the name of Issa found its way there.

ÒThere are conflicting reports regarding Issa. Some say he died in Somalia while others say he is alive. We are confused and puzzled by the discovery,Ó said a senior official who asked not to be named.

Issa was reportedly killed on March 10, 2006, during a counterterrorism raid, however, the accuracy of the report is unknown.

Commander of Al-shabaab forces

Mr Issa was named in a United States Government report two years ago as having served as a commander of al-Shabaab forces in Somalia, and continues to hold leadership role.

The report said he was one of the operatives who fired the surface-to-air missiles in the failed 2002 attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in Mombasa, the day the Paradise Hotel was bombed, killing 12 people and injuring 40 others.

He and Mombasa cell leader Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan are alleged to have personally fired the two Strela 2 missiles.

Other theories suggested on Tuesday the passport could be forged. Issa is alleged to have led a militia assault on MogadishuÕs Basil Hotel in April 2007.

Crackdown

The hotel is frequented by Ugandan peacekeepers. The discovery came in the wake of a crackdown on terror suspects following the suicide bomb attacks in Kampala last month.

Four of 12 other suspects who were arrested on Saturday at the Coast were sentenced to eight months in jail after they pleaded guilty.

The four were Tanzanians captured in Lamu after arriving on a fishing boat from Somalia.

Police said they are convinced they are terrorists because they recovered rolls of paper, covered in waterproof material concealed in the hems of their clothes.

Muslim leaders in Nairobi declined to comment on the issue on Tuesday.