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Kenyan police accused of hunting-killing 60 terror suspects
Inside the Kenyan police units accused of hunting down and assassinating terror suspects in the country after 60 people are killed in two separate attacks
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- enyan officers speak out about their work in so-called death squads
- Men told how instead of arresting suspects they 'eliminate them'
- They claim cleric linked to Samantha Lewthwaite was executed by police
- Kenyan government denies it runs an extrajudicial killing programme
- Officers spoke exclusively to the Al Jazeera Investigation Unit
- Comments come after more than 60 people killed by terror group al-Shabab
- 28 bus passengers and 36 quarry workers died in separate attacks
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A gunman (left) and a commando (right) from the Kenyan General Service Unit have spoken out about their roles in so-called death squads allegedly tasked with hunting down and killing terrorists
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Members of Kenyan police and intelligence units accused of hunting down and assassinating terror suspects have claimed the killing of a controversial Muslim cleric was planned by high ranking officers and government officials.
The men, who are part of three so-called death squads, spoke out about their secret activities after more than 60 people were killed in two separate terror attacks by Al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabab in the last month.
Speaking anonymously, they revealed that instead of arresting suspects they 'eliminate' them, and claimed the death of Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, who was accused of recruiting 'White Widow' Samantha Lewthwaite, was ordered by the Kenyan National Security Council.
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Ahmed, who was also known as Makaburi - meaning graveyard, was shot dead in April as he walked from a court in Mombasa to a nearby mosque.
Human rights activists' have previously raised fears over police brutality in Kenya and claimed that the country's government - rattled by the presence of Islamic extremists - has been behind the deaths of several terror suspects.
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A spy from the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) (left) said his job is to find and identify the suspects, while an officer from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (right) claimed hundreds of suspects are killed by police every year
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However, the Kenyan government has denied it runs an extrajudicial killing programme.
Speaking exclusively to a Al Jazeera investigation programme, which will be aired on Monday evening, the four men - all members of Kenyan intelligence and special police units - say they have all been involved in the assassination of terror suspects, with one claiming to have killed more than 50.
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The gunman appears in the programme Inside Kenya’s Death Squads alongside a commando from Recce Company, a member of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and a spy for the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS).
According to Al Jazeera, which agreed to conceal the men's identities for security reasons, all of officers play an integral part in Kenya’s counter-terrorism strategy and all have had a hand in assassinating suspects.
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Authorities say the terror group has been behind at least 135 attacks, including the assault on Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall in September 2013 in which 67 people were killed. al-Shabab said it was responsible for other attacks on Kenya's coast earlier this year which killed at least 90 people.
The officers in the programme said they believe assassinations of terror suspects is necessary because of the threat the country faces from insurgents.
'Since I was employed, I’ve killed over fifty', said the commando from Recce Company.
'I do become proud because I’ve eliminated some problems.'
Asked if human rights should be taken into account he described a terror suspect as 'a very dangerous person to our country'.
'What do you do with such a person?', he said. 'Do you spare such a person because you are observing human rights?
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz3LHhEh9pr
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