SOMALILANDERS SEIZE JIHADISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 004003

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2025
TAGS: PTER ASEC PINS PGOV PHUM SO KE
SUBJECT: SOMALILANDERS SEIZE JIHADISTS


Classified By: PolCouns Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
.


1. (C) Media reports from BBC and Al Jazeera describe a
September 22-23 shoot-out in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The
shoot-out ended in seizure of four to eight individuals, some
of whom the Somaliland government claims are "foreign Al
Qaeda operatives." (NOTE: In the Somaliland context,
"foreign" can mean from southern Somalia. END NOTE.)
Somaliland officials have been quick to play up the
importance of this seizure, claiming that one of the
detainees is an internationally-known, Afghan-trained leader
within Al Qaeda - but without naming him. Interior Minister
Ishmael Aden suggested in public remarks that the detainees
intended to disrupt the September 29 parliamentary elections.
He also said the detainees were planning to mount a prison
break in order to free 10 individuals with Jihadist
connections currently on trial for the 2003/4 murders of
Sister Annelina Tonnelli and two British aid workers.


2. (C) Post has been unable to make direct contact with
Somaliland officials, but has been able to establish a common
thread in e-mails from the War-torn Societies Project, the
Danish embassy (through a Danish aid worker based in
Somaliland),and press reports. Those arrested included a
prominent local cleric, Sheikh Mohamed Mohamoud Nur. It
appears the detainees were heavily armed and had enough
explosives for a car or truck bomb, which seems connected to
the prison-break portion of the Interior Minister's remarks.
The timing of their planned attack may have been intended to
occur at a high-profile moment for Somaliland, when its
attempts to portray itself as a stable, democratic entity
could be undermined by a successful attack on the
security/justice systems. The detainees' likely connections
to the suspects in the aid workers' murders would link them
to Somalia's jihadists, but does not necessarily put them in
the league of high-level Al Qaeda operatives. There is a
sense among some international community contacts that the
Somaliland government may be playing up the Al Qaeda
connection for political gain, particularly while they have
some international attention surrounding the upcoming
elections. As the Danish Somalia watcher put it, "If these
were really high-level Al Qaeda personalities, we would
already know all their names."


3. (U) A Kenyan paper, The Sunday Standard, attributed the
re-issuance of the Department's public announcement for East
Africa on September 24 to concerns sparked by the shoot-out
and arrests. On the other end of the spectrum, organizations
and individuals planning to be in Somaliland during the
parliamentary elections are proceeding as planned, some
arguing that Hargeisa is safer now than it was a week ago.


4. (C) COMMENT: While the Somaliland authorities can claim a
success in having thwarted a planned prison break/terror
attack, they now need to put out more specifics as to who was
detained and what was the plot. We will continue to seek out
information on the individuals detained and clarification on
their motivations. END COMMENT.

BELLAMY