Thirty-seven suspected terrorists, including suspected members of Islamic State, have been arrested across East Africa over the last two months, the global police body Interpol said on Monday, January 27, Reuters reported. Interpol, which is headquartered in France, said the arrests had been made during November and December during operations conducted jointly with the pan-African police body Afripol. ALSO READ: Rwanda extradites terror suspect to India The arrests come as concerns mount over a possible resurgence of the ISIS militant group, after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. On New Year's Day, fifteen people were killed after a U.S. Army veteran flying an ISIS flag from his truck swerved around makeshift barriers and drove into crowds in New Orleans. ALSO READ: Interpol regional offices draw strategies to tackle cross-border crimes Interpol said the operations in Africa had resulted in the arrests of 17 people, including two suspected ISIS members, in Kenya, and the arrest of a suspected member of ISIS Mozambique in Tanzania. Others were arrested in DR Congo and Somalia. East Africa's complex landscape, marked by political instability, porous borders, and socioeconomic challenges, continues to provide an environment conducive to terrorist activity, said Cyril Gout from Interpol. These positive results demonstrate the power of international collaboration in the fight against terrorism, he added.
