FBI Launches First Overseas Joint Terrorism Task Force in Kenya

USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of State have partnered to assist Kenya in creating the first Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to be located outside of the US.

In an announcement made on its Twitter page, the FBI has confirmed that the JTTF will be a multi-agency counterterrorism investigative force lead by a Kenyan.

According to the FBI, the initiative to establish a terrorism task force began after the al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 16, 2019.

FBI, State Department Partner with Kenya to Launch First Overseas Joint Terrorism Task Force https://t.co/3ZOfEZzMIy pic.twitter.com/B55xdJCmn3

— FBI (@FBI) February 10, 2020

“There was a pressing need for a JTTF that could be met through FBI’s training expertise combined with the State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism’s (CT Bureau) capacity-building efforts,” said the bureau.

42 Kenyan investigators will be selected to join the task force and will receive a 12-week intensive counterterrorism training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

The bureau says that it will administer the curriculum and provide training with assistance from other agencies, as applicable.

The team will adopt methodologies used by U.S.-based JTTFs and be trained to handle sensitive counterterrorism intelligence shared with the Kenyan government. The investigators will be trained and equipped to investigate all terrorism matters deemed of significant importance to Kenya’s National Security Council. Upon completion of the course, the JTTF-K officers will return to Kenya, where they will be assisted by an FBI special agent mentor.

“Due to globalization and the rapid advancement in technology, terrorists and their sympathizers have also changed tactics and devised new methods to further their agenda. Endeavors such as the Kenyan Joint Terrorism Task Force will allow for a multi-agency approach to achieve common objectives and assist us in obtaining the upper hand against the enemy,” said Directorate of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti.