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Stephen Mbogo, Correspondent
Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - Amid growing terror threats in Kenya, the head of a U.S. anti-terror task force in East Africa held talks with government officials here, praising Kenya for its close cooperation in counter-terror efforts.
Major-General John Sattler, the outgoing commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, based in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, told reporters in Nairobi that joint training between U.S. and Kenyan troops would begin soon.
Training of military personnel in Kenya and other anti-terror coalition partners in the region - including Ethiopia, Somali and Eritrea - would equip them with the necessary skills to combat terrorism and develop effective counter-terror strategies.
"Trans-national terrorism must be eliminated," Sattler said. "Ignoring it will only give it room to flourish," said Major Gen. Sattler.
He revealed some Kenyan, Ethiopian and Somali military successes, including the arrests of suspected terrorists in Somalia, large parts of which are ungoverned.
Last March Kenyan police announced the arrest of key terror suspect Suleiman Abdalla, arrested in Somali capital Mogadishu and extradited to the U.S. to stand trial for his alleged role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa.
Security Minister Chris Murungaru says Kenya has stationed two military battalions as well as security agents along the Somali-Kenya border, with an aim of securing it. In the past, terror suspects have passed relatively easily across the porous frontier.
Sattler said counter-terrorism intelligence gathering and exchange between the coalition partners has improved tremendously since the task force began its operations seven months ago.
He praised Kenya as a shining example in Africa, saying it had laid a strong foundation on counter-terrorism strategies.
Murungaru came in for particular praise, with Sattler saying he had showed courage and braved "tremendous criticism" when he warned the public last week about new terrorist threats in Kenya.
The warnings prompted others from other governments, and several airlines suspended services, dealing a blow to Kenya's important tourism industry.
"There may be an economic setback for a period of time," Sattler conceded.
"But now, if the whole nation rallies together, if everyone takes the stand, we will not permit a safe haven for terrorists inside the borders of Kenya. Then the rest of the world sees that, [and] all those things that should be here will in fact flow in."
In its security warnings to American nationals last week, the U.S. warned about attacks being planned against civilian aircraft.
An official at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi said the U.S. was working closely with African governments to improve civil aviation safety in Africa.
He added that anti-terrorism efforts between Kenya and U.S. had doubled since President Mwai Kibaki came to power last January.
On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Jonnie Carson, was due to hand over sophisticated security equipment to airport officials.
In 1998, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi was bombed, killing more than 200 people, while another simultaneous attack targeted the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Tanzania.
In another attack last November, a car bomb exploded at an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, killing 11 Kenyans and three Israelis.
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network has been blamed for both attacks.
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