LAMU, Kenya, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan security forces have arrested more than 10 suspects in connection with the abduction of an Italian aid worker in the coastal region of Kilifi.
Noah Mwivanda, Coast regional police commander, confirmed the arrest on Thursday, saying the suspects were arrested in a sting operation conducted by a multiagency security operation at Chakama and Galana-Kulalu areas on Wednesday night.
Mwivanda said the suspects have been detained in various police stations for interrogation following the Tuesday night incident in which five people including three children were injured.
"I am unable to exactly confirm the number of those arrested in the ongoing operation unless I confirm with the concerned people on the ground," Mwivanda said.
Sylivia Constanca, an Italian volunteer, was seized from her hotel room on Tuesday evening.
The east African nation has sought to allay fears of insecurity at the coastal region, saying it was an isolated incident.
The ministry of tourism has also assured investors and tourists planning to travel to the region that it is under constant surveillance.
The move comes as search and rescue operation for the Italian woman has been intensified to neighboring regions.
Sources said the military has joined the hunt for the attackers and efforts to rescue the woman amid fears the kidnappers may be headed far.
Mwivanda said they have divided teams into groups to carry out the operation that extends to neighboring Tana River county and some parts of Voi in Taita Taveta county.
He added that three of the assailants had AK47 rifles during the attack and two motorbikes they used have been recovered in Chakama.
The regional police commander also denied that it was an al-Shabab attack as alleged by the media, adding that he was optimistic that the aid worker will be found alive.
"Report any suspicious individuals amongst you so that we can avoid such incidents in future," Mwivanda said.
Kenya's tourism suffered a decline in the number of tourists arriving since September 2011, when the Somali militant group, the al-Shabab, carried out the kidnappings of tourists in the Lamu archipelago and the kidnapping of the Spanish volunteers.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia to battle the militants in October 2011 after several attacks, including the kidnapping of a French woman and a British tourist - and the killing of her husband - damaged its key tourism industry.
