Kenya deports German national suspected of terrorist activities

[News_Editor]

Kenya deports German national suspected of terrorist activities

2010-10-07 07:25:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAIROBI, KENYA (BNO NEWS) – Kenya police on Wednesday announced the deportation of a German national who is suspected to be involved in terrorism after three weeks of manhunt, local media reported.

Sascha Alessadro Bottcher, 23, a German national and Muslim convert, was arrested after he arrived in Kenya in order to travel to Somalia where he will join an Al-Qaeda cell. The arrest was possible after German authorities alerted Kenya police.

Bottcher's mother delivered a letter to German authorities in which his son wrote that he was going to Somalia and that he would not return alive. An alert was sent along Bottcher's photograph with the indication of being arrested on sight.

Both German and Kenyan authorities believed that Bottcher was referring in his letter to a suicide bombing and were concerned as the possible targets were not specified. It is believed that he was attempting to join the Al-Shabaab group, which controls most of Somalia.

The suspect flew from Frankfurt airport, in Germany, and landed at the Moi International Airport in Kenya. However, he was not arrested at that moment and Kenyan authorities launched a nationwide manhunt that eventually arrested him at an entertainment place in Mtwapa, northeastern Mombasa.

Kenya anti-terrorism police unit held Bottcher captive and began the necessary arrangements for his deportation. The suspect was handed over to the Interpol on Monday morning and was flown back to Germany on Tuesday.

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