As Somalia's new president and prime minister vow to uphold peace, evidence is emerging of the international reach of Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked extremist groups.

On Tuesday, officials in Kenya warned of an imminent attack by Somalia-based militants tied to Al Qaeda, reports The Standard, an English-language newspaper based in Kenya.

They are reportedly unhappy with the cooperation between Kenya, the United States, and European countries in the war against piracy, a major source of revenue for terrorists and other criminal gangs in Somalia.

Internal Security Minister George Saitoti said on Monday they are taking measures to ensure the attack does not occur.

"We are aware and monitoring whatever is going on especially in Somalia. I am not dreaming because the threat is real and we have been victims," he said....

Saitoti also cited a US report by a spy agent, who warned that Kenya was likely to face terror attacks as extremists plot to hit US targets. Saitoti termed the remarks serious.

Agence France-Presse adds that Kenyan authorities, on alert for possible attacks, tightened security at all airports and border points Tuesday.

"We are screening all vehicles and persons entering the airport because we don't want to take any chances. We have instructions to be more careful. These threats are serious," said an official at the capital's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The heightened security underscores the continuing threat that militants pose to a new government struggling to bring order back to a country ravaged by 20 years of war, reports Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency.

On Saturday [the] Somali parliament overwhelmingly approved the nomination of Omar Abdirashid Shermarke as ... Prime Minister after he was picked on Friday by the Somali president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was himself elected in a parliamentary vote in the neighboring Djibouti last month.

The hardline Islamist insurgent movements of Al Shabab and the newly formed Hezbul Islam vowed to fight the new Somali leadership.

In an interview yesterday with The Wall Street Journal, the new president asked militant groups to lay down their arms.

Mr. Ahmed said Monday that neither he nor his government had communicated directly with Al Shabab. Instead, he said he had made a public appeal to all groups to lay down their arms and participate in rebuilding the country.

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