Kenyan president vows to build prison for violent extremists

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed Tuesday to build a special prison that would segregate violent extremists from the country's regular prison population.

The BBC quoted Kenyatta as saying the facility would stop jihadists from spreading extremist ideologies to the rest of society.

Since 2011, Kenya has battled militants with Somali terrorist group al-Shabab. The group, which is linked to al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for multiple high-profile attacks inside Kenya, killing more than 60 people in a 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi and nearly 150 people at Garissa University College last year.

Late last month, Kenyan troops withdrew from two bases in southern Somalia following al-Shabab attacks that claimed the lives of several Kenyan soldiers.

At the time, Kenyatta said his country was "unbowed" and promised al-Shabab would pay a "heavy price" for its actions.

"Our soldiers did not die in vain," he said.