Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, the Police said.
The incident happened at Mikocheni Falls located at Amboni Village in Tanga Region that turned into a war zone on Friday when Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF) soldiers in collaboration with police battled an armed group in which four combatants and two police officers were injured.
Sources from the scene informed The Guardian on Sunday yesterday that it was most likely the armed group was an offshoot of Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
According to sources, police officers went to the area on Friday at around 11 am to search for firearms believed to have been hidden only to be ambushed by armed people.
It would be recalled that on January 20, this year unknown people assaulted police officers who were on patrol in Tanga City and got away with two shotguns and 60 rounds of ammunition.
Having noticed that police had underestimated the power of the gunmen they retreated before asking for help from Tanzania People’s Defense Forces ( TPDF) soldiers who stormed the area the same day at around 2 pm.
However, speaking through his mobile phone, Commissioner of Operations in the Police Force Paul Chagonja denounced the claims, informing this newspaper that the armed group consisted of armed robbers.
“We cannot substantively confirm that the armed individuals belong to Al-Shabaab group simply because after a thorough search at their hideout we only found motorcycles, clothes and items that we believe were stolen from nearby residents,” Chagonja said.
He said police were still tracking the culprits as the armed individuals managed to escape after the battle, adding that no person was arrested. “It was like an ambush because the enemies hid in caves, making it difficult for police officers to see them (armed men),” Chagonja said.
Later in the afternoon yesterday Chagonja met reporters in Tanga, informing them that it was true that four soldiers and two police officers sustained injuries and that they were admitted to Bombo Regional Hospital.
When contacted over the phone, Tanga Regional Police Commissioner Fressar Kashai said the police were managing the situation, adding that he would be able to explain later in the evening yesterday.
But when he was contacted in the evening he was still not in a position to talk, and the Tanga Regional Commissioner Said Magalula also declined to comment, saying he was at the scene of the incident.
A source from Amboni village said the residents were shocked when they saw military vehicles with troops heading to the scene and a military helicopter surrounding the area.
He said that on Friday noon they heard gunshots, situation that confused the residents of the area.
According to him, they saw military police from TPDF armed vehicles heading to Mikocheni Falls after the gunshots. Meanwhile, police have launched an intensive investigation in search for a self proclaimed leader of a terrorist group who had appeared in an Internet video clip on Friday.
Speaking to The Guardian on Sunday yesterday Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ernest Mangu said they had watched the 11-minute clip, adding that the police had started investigation to establish its authenticity.
Early this week, a man who called himself Kais bin Abdullah who claimed to be a leader of the “terrorist” group, appeared in a video clip casting threat to the police, prime minister, the government and non-Muslims.
He claimed involvement in attacks on police stations and the killings of Police officers in various regions across the country.
He said they had invaded Ikwiriri police post in Coast Region, Ushirombo Police post in Shinyanga and police post in Kilombero district, killing five police officers and stealing arms involving sub-machine guns, bullet rounds and bombs.
The video clip was revealed by a local online Television for the first time, but was circulated to various social networks including Blogs, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter handles.
The leader of the group stated they had collected weapons to avenge the police getting involved in arrests, torture and humiliation against Muslim activists.
The man accused IGP of misleading the public that the police had arrested the culprits in connection with attacks on police stations.
“We are very much alive and organizing surprise attacks throughout the country,” he said, adding, “it will push the government into releasing our colleagues as soon as possible.”
But IGP dismissed the accusations as lies, saying the real culprits were already in police custody awaiting trial.
“I am not in a good position to provide the exact figures of the suspects we detained during the operation,” said IGP Mangu.
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