Kenyan authorities have detained two German nationals who they accuse of being members of the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which has been blamed for a series of attacks on Kenyan soil, police said Tuesday.
"We arrested the two foreigners following information that they had traveled to Somalia and joined the militant group fighting the government," John Mulaulu, Kenya's acting head of Anti Terrorism Police Unit, told Reuters by telephone
"The two were arrested on Aug. 29 within the Kenyan capital, Nairobi when they arrived from Somalia," he said, adding that both men were German.
The police were questioning the two men over their alleged links to al Shabaab, which has carried out a series of attacks on Kenya, including an assault by gunmen on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall last September, which left 67 dead.
Police later identified them as Warsame Abdul Wahid, who they said is a German of Somali origin, and Tebourbe Mounir.
Al Shabaab has threatened attacks in east Africa and the United States as punishment for a U.S. missile strike last week that killed the rebel group's leader Ahmed Godane, who publicly claimed responsibility for the Westgate assault.
Mulaulu said the two Germans had yet to be charged, adding they had valid passports but not visas.
A German official confirmed the two German nationals were being held, but declined to give details. "We are in contact with the authorities," the official said.
