Uganda's anti terrorism police arrests seven al-Shabab jihadist Uganda's capital Kampala

KAMPALA, Apr 01, 2010 (Xinhua via ) -- Seven Somali nationals suspected to be linked to Somalia's militant group al-Shabaab have been arrested in Uganda's capital Kampala, a local television reported on Thursday.NTV quoted a security source said that security agencies believe that the suspects, now under police custody, are part of the al-Shabaab which has vowed to carry out terror attacks on Kampala.
The group which is fighting the Somali Transitional Federal Government is opposed to Uganda's deployment of peacekeepers in the Somali capital Mogadishu.NTV quoted anonymous source as saying that the operation was meant to arrest a key member of the militant group but instead ended up netting the seven suspects who had entered the country illegally through neighboring Kenya."The suspects have been detained at Old Kampala Police station and are undergoing intense interrogation," said NTV.It said quoting the source that the al-Shabaab may have opened up three training camps, two in the eastern Ugandan district of Jinja and one in Kisenyi. Street children in Kampala are also being recruited and sent abroad for training.
Matia Kasaija, Uganda's minister of state for internal affairs, told Xinhua by telephone on Wednesday that he could not divulge the details of the operation until the Criminal Investigation Department was through with the interrogation."We shall inform the world at an appropriate time," he said.Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, army spokesman said he was not aware of the operation but said security agencies are on high alert following the al-Shabaab threat.