The Kenya Defence Forces has activated its operations following a recent al Shabaab video warning of imminent terror attacks in the country.
The video, titled the Westgate Siege, warns that attacks against Kenya will continue and urges Muslims in the West to attack non-believers and carry out attacks across the world.
The graphic footage talks about oppressive policies against Kenyan Muslims, who, al Shabaab said, are being targeted and killed.
KDF spokesman Colonel David Obonyo yesterday downplayed the threats, terming them “mere propaganda”.
Obonyo told the Star they are aware of the video and are assessing its content.
“The group is desperate after it lost control of key strategic towns inside Somalia. It is incapacitated following a spate of airstrikes targeting the control bases,” he said.
Obonyo said the propaganda literature cannot deter Kenyan troops from safeguarding the country against internal and external aggression.
He said the al Qaeda-linked group has recruited widely from Europe, US, Yemen and local youth to carry out attacks on Western interests and Kenya following the entry of Kenyan troops into Somalia in 2011.