Tanzania Police Claim Terror Plot Stopped

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From 'Kenya Today': Tanzania police on Wednesday said terrorists planned to conduct major attacks in Dar es Salaam and Arusha during the visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, who was in the country for a four day official tour. One of the suspects is on the wanted list of terrorists who coordinated and executed the 2002 Mombassa terrorism attacks that targeted an Israel-owned hotel where ten people were killed. The news about the terrorism attack plot broke out on Tuesday just a few hours after the U.S. President left for Rwanda.

In the "foiled mission," top detectives from the CID department in collaboration with Tanzanian Intelligence agents arrested nine suspects including one of the most wanted terrorism suspects from Kenya. The suspects were arrested in their hotels in Dar es Salaam and Arusha just two days before the arrival of President Bush who jetted into the country last Saturday.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Said Mwema, said police were still interrogating the suspects in order to get more details before taking further action. Five out of the nine suspects are of Tanzanian origin, while one is Asian and three are Arabs, according to the police chief. The intelligence report shared between Tanzania and international security agents have confirmed that the all suspects have been blacklisted by 20 embassies around the globe as terror suspects.

"We are digging in to establish who their ringleader is since we have them in our custody; hopefully they will cooperate with us." The Police Chief said. But Police declined to disclose the names of the suspects fearing that the move could interfere with ongoing investigations. The suspects, according to police, were trailed by the intelligence agents through their telephone communication and other daily movements.