2 Americans held, Kenya official says
Two Americans were among at least 10 foreigners detained by Kenyan police at the Somalian border after allegedly fighting on the side of Somalia’s ousted Islamist movement, an official said Friday.
One of the Americans is wanted in the U.S. on suspicion of links to radical movements, the Kenyan police official said.
Kenya said it seized the foreigners after they fled from Ethiopian troops who had helped oust the Islamists. It was preparing to deport them to their home countries.
One of the Americans was arrested with his 9-year-old child, the police official said. The U.S. Embassy had no comment.
Among the foreigners in custody were four Britons and people from France, Tunisia and Syria, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information. The date of their deportation had not been determined.
Violence has been escalating in Mogadishu, the Somalian capital. A bombing at an Islamic girls school killed a student Friday, and at least eight people were killed overnight in mortar attacks.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
