Kenya official: Iranian agents planned attack against Israeli, U.S. targets

Keyan officials say Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad, Sayed Mansour, who were arrested with 15 kilograms of explosives, are members of the elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

A Kenyan policewoman escorting two Iranian nationals Sayed Mansour Mousavi, left, and Ahmed Abolfathi Mohammed, right, in the Nairobi magistrate court in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, June. 27, 2012. (SW: note that a woman is in charge them - very unislamic!)

Officials in Kenya said on Monday that two Iranian agents arrested with explosives planned to attack Israeli, American, British or Saudi Arabian targets inside Kenya.

The officials said that the plot appears to fit into a global pattern of attacks or attempted attacks by Iranian agents, mostly against Israeli interests.

Kenyan security forces arrested Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi last week with 15 kilograms of RDX, a powerful explosive, in the coastal city of Mombasa. Several hotels on the coast are Israeli-owned.

One official said the Iranians are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing security issues.

Last week, one of the two Iranians facing charges in Kenya told the Kenyan court that he had been interrogated by Israeli agents while in detention.

Mohammad on Wednesday said the two were interrogated by Israeli agents, a claim that, if true, would suggest security officials believe the Iranians might have been targeting an Israeli-owned property. Iranian agents are suspected in several attacks or thwarted attacks around the globe over the last year, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand and India. Most of the plots had connections to Israeli targets.

Several resorts on Kenya’s coast are Israeli-owned. Militants in 2002 bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near Mombasa, killing 13 people. The militants also tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner at the same time. An al-Qaida operative was linked to those attacks.

Israel’s deputy ambassador to Kenya, Yaki Lopez, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “this whole incident is an internal Kenyan issue.” He said he had no further comment, including on whether Israeli agents were involved in interrogations.

Human rights lawyers say interrogations of suspects by foreign security agents in Kenya are unconstitutional unless the suspects will also be taken to face charges in the foreign country.

Mohammad also told the court he was tortured in Kenyan custody. He said he went without food for long periods and that he was forced to sleep on a cement floor with only his jacket to keep him warm. Police prosecutor Daniel Musangi denied the accusations that the suspects were tortured. Magistrate Paul Biwott said the allegations were serious and ordered an investigation.

Days after the arrest of the Iranians, the U.S. government, citing information about an imminent terrorist attack, withdrew its government workers from Mombasa and issued an alert last Friday warning against non-essential travel to Kenya’s second largest city. But the warning may not have been linked to the Iranians. On Sunday attackers carried out a grenade and gunfire attack on a bar outside Mombasa, killing three people and wounding 25.

Kenya has seen a spate of attacks in recent months following the country’s decision last October to send troops into neighboring Somalia to fight al-Shabab militants. However, al-Shabab and its partner organization al-Qaida have not traditionally used Iranian operatives in its operations.

The two Iranians were charged Monday. Prosecutors say they were possession of explosives known as RDX “in circumstances that indicated they were armed with the intent to commit a felony namely, acts intended to cause grievous harm.”

RDX is a powerful military-grade explosive. They denied both charges and through a translator asked for bond.

On Wednesday, lawyer David Kirimi, who represents Mohammad and Mousavi, argued that the two suspects are investors and their arrests will harm Kenya-Iran relations. But Biwott dismissed that argument, citing the magnitude of the accusations. Musangi, the police prosecutor, said the two were likely to flee if released.

Overseas Territories White Paper reiterates UK determination to defend the Falklands

Britain reiterated its determination to continue to defend the Falkland Islands and other Overseas Territories on Thursday, an official document known as the White Paper said. The document on the Overseas Territories declares there would be “no weakening” in Britain's resolve.

Foreign Secretary Hague: “we want OT to be vibrant, flourishing communities that proudly retain British identity”

The paper – which sets out a vision for the future of the British 14 Overseas Territories – was signed by the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague, and pledges to continue to ensure the “sovereignty over the Territories.”

In the text, the UK vows to guarantee the Overseas Territories citizens “right of self-determination” and states the commitment to maintain military presence in order to assure UK’s sovereignty over the South Atlantic territories.

“In the South Atlantic, British forces will maintain a defensive military posture to defend the Falklands and other British islands. There will be no weakening of the Government's resolve.”

Hague explained the paper was designed to strengthen Britain's engagement with the Territories - which also include Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cayman Islands; the sovereign base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus; Gibraltar; Montserrat; the Pitcairn Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands; Turks and Caicos Islands; and the British Virgin Islands.

“Today's White Paper is the first review of the Overseas Territories since 1999 and it demonstrates the importance the coalition Government attaches to the Overseas Territories,” the foreign official said today.

“As well as having a responsibility to ensure the security and good governance of the Territories, we want the Territories to be vibrant, flourishing communities that proudly retain aspects of their British identity.

”We appreciate the remarkable diversity of the Territories, each with their own specific attributes, opportunities and challenges.

“This White Paper is designed to meet these challenges, to set out ways we can support the Territories and strengthen our engagement with them. It is another major milestone in our long and shared history, and I hope it will mark a new era of engagement between Britain and the Overseas Territories.”

In his message Prime Minister David Cameron said that “the UK government is ambitious for our Territories as we are ambitious for the United Kingdom. This White Paper sets out our commitment to work with the Territories to address the challenges we face together. This is a commitment from across the UK Government.