WORLD> Africa
Terror suspect escapes police raid in Kenya
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-04 09:50

NAIROBI -- One of the most wanted Al Qaeda terror suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed escaped police dragnet in the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi just minutes before the authorities entered the house.

Police spokesman confirmed on Sunday that the country's security forces have launched a massive manhunt for 32-year-old Mohammed who on Saturday night escaped a police dragnet in Malindi.

A senior detective said Mohammed managed to escape but two people who are believed to be his aides have been arrested and are being questioned.

"The two have been arrested and transferred to Mombasa for interrogation. A major police operation has been launched to arrest the culprits," the detective who did not wanted to be named told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa.

The United States has offered a 5 million U.S. dollars reward for information leading to the arrest of the Comorian, who speaks five languages and is said to be a master of concealing outfit.

"We went to the house in Malindi after receiving a tip off from members of the public. The informers told us that Fazul was around for medical checks on his kidney. But he managed to escape before we could break the door of the house," the detective said.

Mohammed is accused of playing a lead role in the 1998 embassy attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed 240 people.

The authorities said they found two passports belonging to the terrorist suspect and a laptop, which they believe has crucial information on terrorism activities.

"We are holding two people. They might help us in this operation," the officer said.

Mohammed is also suspected of planning the car bombing of a beach resort in Kenya and the near simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002.

Ten Kenyans and three Israelis were killed in the blast at the hotel, 20 kilometres north of Mombasa.

Washington believes he has been in Somalia since 2002 under the protection of Islamic extremists. The CIA had offered rewards to Somali warlords for his capture. Kenyan police briefly detained Mohammed for credit card fraud, but they didn't realize he was a terror suspect and he was released.

The development comes as the east African nation would be marking the 10th anniversary since the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy on Thursday.

Mohammed's name featured prominently in a murder trial of five Kenyans who were arrested and charged over the Kikambala hotel bombing where Israeli owned Paradise hotel was bombed and 15 people were killed in November 28 2002 attack.

The five were however acquitted over the killings for lack of evidence. One of the suspects in the murder trial Omar Said Omar was later jailed for possessing anti tank missile and hand grenades.

He has since filed an appeal which is due to be in court next month.