'White man' training Al Qaida terrorists in wilderness camp near Kenya

'White man' training Al Qaida terrorists in wilderness camp near Kenya

Al Qaida linked Islamist terrorists have set up a training camp in southern
Somalia, near the Kenya border, according to eyewitness reports in the local
press.

The Nairobi East African Standard newspaper reported last week that Kenyan
border guards are aware of the camp, which is a 20-minute boat ride from the
underwater park at Kiunga, a border region.

The Islamists at the camp are being trained with the help of a "white man
sporting a thick moustache and believed to be of Eastern European
extraction, presumably Yugoslavia," the newspaper reported.

The camp at Ras Kiamboni is being used to recruit and train Islamist
extremists linked to the Al Ittiyad, a Somalia based group linked to Al
Qaida.

According to the report, Al Ittiyad terrorists transit the Kenyan border
with arms and equipment. The camp is said to employ turban-wearing sentries
armed with AK-47 rifles.

The terrorists are told that they would be sent to fight alongside Islamists
in Chechnya. The fighters are part of the global "jihadist" or holy warrior
movement that includes Al Qaida.

The accented trainer has been identified only as "David."

The report said fighters who were killed in friendly fire accidents are
buried in the camp.

The facility is hidden in a thicket in the wilderness area of Somalia and is
defended by a large caliber gun mounted on the coast targeted against
approaching ships or boats.

An official in the Kenyan counterterrorist agency said the camp is supported
by a Garissa, Kenya businessman and a series of lodges in the Majengo area
of Mombassa.

Kenya agents visited the camp in May, June and July and obtained valuable
details about its operations in an area almost 45 square miles in size.

The camp is inhabited by families of the jihadists and includes local police
and courts.

The terrorists also have cells in Kenya and are supported by the Kenyan
businessman. "He is the key financier of the group. Funds to bankroll the
suspect activities of the outfit are channeled to the businessman from
different banks in Kuwait," the official was quoted as saying.