US embassy cable - 05NAIROBI4003

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