Story highlights Human Rights Watch accuses Kenyan security services of 'disappearing' 34

Rights group says figure is likely only 'small sample'

(CNN) They were taken from their homes, workplaces and places of worship, placed in unmarked cars or vehicles linked to security services and never seen again.

In the midst Kenya's counterterrorism operations to eliminate the threat of the al Qaeda-linked terror group Al-Shabaab, the country's security services have been behind at least 34 enforced disappearances of terror suspects, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released Wednesday.

In another 11 cases, investigators found remains of people who were last seen in the custody of security agents, their bodies found often miles from where they had been arrested.

Witnesses interviewed in the report said those who were behind the operations often carried military or police identification, drove cars with government insignia, and in many cases drove those who were arrested to military bases and police stations. This has lead witnesses and the rights group to believe security forces were behind the disappearances.

Disappearances... and threats

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