Al-Shabaab rebels seize town close to Kenyan border

Islamist insurgents stand guard in Mogadishu. The al Qaeda linked rebels are said to have driven out combatants of Hizbu-Islam to take control of Dhobley, the border town. Photo/FILE

By NATION Correspondent in MOGADSHUPosted Sunday, November 29 2009 at 22:30

Somalia’s al-Shabaab insurgents have captured a key town close to the border with Kenya. The al Qaeda linked rebels are said to have driven out combatants of Hizbu-Islam, another Islamist group opposing the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), to take control of Dhobley, the border town.Sheikh Hassan Yakoub Ali, a resident, said that Hizbu-Islam fighters had crossed the border into Kenya, adding that the rebels held talks with Kenyan officials. With this victory, al-Shabaab appears to have consolidated its presence in the strategic Juba region.Sheikh Yakoub said the al-Shabaab officials held talks with Sheikh Hassan Abdullahi Hersi alias Sheikh Hassan Turki at Dhobley.

Combatants fled

Despite claims by al-Shabaab officials that Hizbu-Islam combatants fled to the Kenyan side of the border, residents said that the forces of Sheikh Ahmed Madobe disappeared into the bushy areas known as Bada Madoow (black sea).The residents said that al-Shabaab fighters reached Dhobley, which neighbours the Kenyan town of Liboi, at midday on Saturday. There was no confrontation, they said.So far, Hizbu-Islam has not issued a statement on the issue. Meanwhile, al-Shabaab leader Sheikh Mukhtar Abdurahman Abu Zubayr has rejected any reconciliation offers by the government.He said that unless foreign forces leave the country and an Islamic state is established, his movement would intensify attacks. Over http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/814594/-/vnhwff/-/

Somali training camps fuel threat of attacks on US

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The recruits gather in scorching desert hideouts in Somalia, use portraits of President Barack Obama for target practice, learn how to make and detonate bombs, and vow allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Training camps in the lawless nation of Somalia are attracting hundreds of foreigners, including Americans, and Somalis recruited by a local insurgent group linked to al-Qaida, according to local and U.S. officials. American officials and private analysts say the camps pose a security threat far beyond the borders of Somalia, including to the U.S. homeland. In interviews with The Associated Press, former trainees gave rare details on the camps, which are scattered along desert footpaths, rutted roads and steamy coastal dens. They say the recruits are told the United States is the enemy of Islam.
U.S. and Somali officials say Somalia's al-Shabab jihadist, or holy war, movement is growing, and uses foreign trainers with battlefield experience from other conflicts. The threat posed by the training camps was underscored in federal court documents unsealed Nov. 23 in Minneapolis, home to a large Somali-American community. An indictment against several Somali-Americans who allegedly fought in Somalia said trainees at one camp included dozens of ethnic Somalis from Somalia and other African countries, Europe and the United States. "The trainees were trained by, among others, Somali, Arab, and Western instructors in ... small arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and military-style tactics," said an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Michael N. Cannizzaro Jr. that was unsealed with the indictment. Former al-Shabab fighter Hassan Yare, who works in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, said life in the camps is austere. Recruits sleep on plastic sheets and sometimes eat only one meal a day — often maize cooked with water. Phones are confiscated. Recruits are only allowed to speak to their parents once every other Friday — Islam's holy day. "The message is simple," Dahir Muhiyadiin, 18, said three months after finishing his training at a camp run by Somalia's main insurgent group. "We are taught how the Western infidels want to eradicate pure Muslims, about how the U.S. government does nothing as Israel harasses our Muslim Palestinians." Al-Shabab — "the youth" in Arabic — controls much of the desert nation's southern region and holds large parts of Mogadishu. It wants to overthrow the government and install a strict form of Islam. Analysts say the group has between 2,000 and 3,000 fighters. Among al-Shabab's ranks are an estimated 200 to 400 foreigners from Pakistan, Chechnya, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries — many of them veterans of fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Mark Schroeder, an Africa analyst at the global intelligence firm Stratfor. The proliferation of jihadist training camps raises concerns that Somalia will become the next Afghanistan — a sanctuary for al-Qaida-linked groups to train and plan attacks. The Somali government seems powerless to do anything about it...more..http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iILUA9KXVuq9lggf2bBgrPCa9MdAD9C993BG0

Al-Qaeda, Somali rebels cooperate: AU commander.Al-Qaida-Linked Militants Capture Key Somali Town

MOGADISHU — Al-Qaeda and Islamists fighting to topple Somalia's government provide "mutual support" to each other, the head of the African Union peacekeeping force here told AFP in an interview. Major General Nathan Mugisha of Uganda, who commands a force of nearly 5,300 soldiers in Somalia, also said the relatively small size of the deployment has limited what it can do to defend the government against the Islamist onslaught. "I think there's a relationship between activities here and Al-Qaeda," Mugisha said in the interview at the force's headquarters at Mogadishu airport. "There's mutual support and I think the way they behave is similar." Asked whether there were foreign fighters in Somalia, he said, "yes there are." Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has said several hundred foreign fighters have come to help the Islamists. Somalia has been embroiled in conflict since 1991, but Western nations fearful of the country becoming an Al-Qaeda safe haven hoped a government they backed led by Sharif would be able to restore some semblance of order. Instead, an offensive earlier this year by two Islamist groups has left the transitional government with control of only a small part of the Somali capital. The remainder is held by the Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab and the more political Hezb al-Islam militia. African Union troops here since 2007 were supposed to number 8,000, but only two countries -- Uganda and Burundi -- are contributing for now. They are stationed at strategic areas in Mogadishu. "Our numbers are limited and therefore our activities have to be limited," Mugisha said. Responding to criticism over civilian casualties during clashes between the AU force and insurgents, Mugisha said "we only react after a lot of provocation, but we are under guidance and instruction to restrain.""We are here to support the transitional federal government and its institutions," he said.The force seeks to convince Shebab fighters to put down their weapons and negotiate, said Mugisha, who added that he still has faith in the bid by President Sharif, seen as a moderate Islamist, to bring peace to the country."We have channels of communication (with Shebab) and we encourage all the belligerents to come reconcile, stop their hostilities, come together as brothers and sisters, be able to resolve the problems in their house," he said."The international community has got a big role to play. It cannot be thrown to the Somalis themselves."Mugisha argued that because the country is so divided, a negotiated settlement is the only way to end the conflict."Since there is no single group that can take this area, the political solution is the way forward," said Mugisha."It is high time that the Somalis themselves understood it ... They should be able to respect whatever solutions or agreements they have reached, respect them and honour them. With the support of the international community, then peace will hold."The AU commander said Sharif, the former number two of the Islamic Courts Union that fought against the previous government and its Ethiopian allies and briefly held power in 2006, remained a "good ally.""He's still talking, encouraging his colleagues to join the government, to join the transitional government so that they are able to sort out their problems," said Mugisha."If he still opens the window of opportunity, I think he is still a good ally to work towards getting peace."http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hcJbkfm2WA7V7AGU-81PhEZLBD5w
Al-Qaida-Linked Militants Capture Key Somali Town
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/28nov09-somalia-Al-Qaida-77500372.html

Terrorism probe casts scrutiny on Minneapolis' Somali immigrant enclave

Little Mogadishu residents talk of a lack of identity and a life of poverty and racism. And they disagree over their former neighbors who are accused of plotting jihad in Somalia.

Reporting from Minneapolis - Barely a block from the Mississippi River sits a neighborhood Mark Twain could not have imagined.Men with henna-streaked beards and women in full-body hijabs streamed Tuesday past the Maashaa Allah Restaurant, the Alle Aamin Coffee Shop, the Kaah Express Money Wiring stall, the storefront Al-Qaaniteen Mosque and other similar structures."When I came here as a refugee in 1995, there were just a few hundred Somalis, and we were very alone," said Adar Kahin, 48, who was a famous singer back home and now volunteers at a local community center."Now everyone is here," she said cheerfully. "It's like being back in Mogadishu. That's what we call it, Little Mogadishu."This corner of Minneapolis -- the de facto capital of the Somali diaspora in America -- presents many faces: hope and renewal, despair and fear.But more than anything, particularly for the young, it is a place of transition and searching for identity."Keeping an identity in this situation is really hard," said Saeed Fahia, who arrived in 1997 and now heads a confederation of Somali organizations. "In Somali culture, all tradition is taught when you are 9 years old, and you learn all about your clan and sub-clan for 25 generations. There's no mechanism to learn that here, and no context."For the FBI, Little Mogadishu has become the center of an intenseinvestigation into a recruiting network that sent young men to fight in Somalia for a radical Islamist group known as Shabab, or "the Youth."Investigators say the poverty, grim gang wars and overpacked public housing towers produced one of the largest militant operations in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Federal officials announced terrorism charges Monday against eight local men, seven of whom remain at large. That brought the total to 14 Minneapolis men who have been indicted or pleaded guilty this year for allegedly indoctrinating, recruiting or training local youths to join a Muslim militia waging war in Somalia against the U.S.-backed government.Family members say six young men from Minneapolis have died in Somalia in the last 13 months, including one who the FBI believes was a suicide bomber. About 20 local youths are believed to have taken up arms there.Fahia speculated that those who went to Somalia "are trying to reclaim their identity. They're trying to find a mission in life. They're trying to find out where they come from, and who they are."Those who left to fight in Somalia prompt no unified response from those who stayed.

Outside the Brian Coyle Community Center, five young men who emigrated from Somalia as toddlers huddled in black hoodies under a cold, clammy fog that turned the day dull gray. They shared smokes and spoke of those who had joined the jihad, or holy war.
"Some of them felt America is the land of the devil," said Said Ali, who is 20, rail-thin and jobless. "They were losing their culture, their language and their religion. They've got family there. They feel at home."If he had the money, he said, he would go to Somalia too."My friend went," he said. "He's running a hotel. He carries an AK-47. He's living life good."Ali Mohamed, also 20 and unemployed, jumped in. "These guys are blowing up women and kids," he said. "That ain't right."The difficult search for identity is an old story in this area.Minnesota long has waved a welcome mat for war refugees -- first Koreans, then Hmong, Vietnamese and Ethiopians. Minneapolis provided subsidized housing and generous benefits. The newcomers found low-wage jobs at chicken-processing factories where English was not required.The first wave of Somalis arrived here after 1991, when the country descended into a fierce clan-based civil war that still rages. More Somalis came each year, and family members soon followed, as was mandated under U.S. law. Others moved here from other U.S. cities.
Many in the community started families, opened businesses and achieved financial stability. They wired money to relatives back home, followed Somali news in ethnic papers and websites, and in some cases invested in Somali businesses even as their children became American doctors and lawyers.Others became mired in brutal poverty. Many of the women were illiterate, and old men who had herded goats struggled in the rugged winters. Unemployment and school dropout rates soared. So did incidents of intolerance."We're an obvious minority here, and have a different religion and culture," said Abdiaziz Warsame, 37, an interpreter and youth counselor who has worked with local gangs such as the Somali Hard Boys and RPG's. "So people feel a high level of racism."A 2007 tally counted 35,000 Somalis in Minnesota, the vast majority of whom live in Little Mogadishu, the gritty Minneapolis zone between two highways and the Mississippi River.
The Riverside Plaza, a public housing project, looms over the area. The grim concrete structures house more than 4,500 people, most of them Somali, in Soviet-style apartment blocks.
Pungent spices waft through the halls, and posters advertise travel agencies that sell visits to Muslim holy shrines in Saudi Arabia. The Halal Minimart outside sells meat acceptable to Muslims, one of more than a dozen in the neighborhood.The Brian Coyle center is the logistical heart of the community. Its food pantry serves more than 1,000 families per month, and various groups help with food stamps, legal services and other needs. The gym does double duty as a wedding hall.But the neighborhood's cultural focus are the mosques and ubiquitous coffee shops, where people gather to discuss community news, politics in their homeland, religion or myriad other subjects.The young have other avenues, including the Internet.Some members of the group that went to Somalia were said to be followers of Anwar al Awlaki, an American-born firebrand imam who preaches on the Internet in flawless English about the need to fight for Islam.Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused killer of 13 people at Ft. Hood in Texas this month, had exchanged e-mails with Awlaki, who is based in Yemen.Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center here, said Awlaki's fierce sermons helped inspire several of the youths who later joined Shabab in Somalia. Awlaki has praised the militia, which U.S. officials say is allied with Al Qaeda."They exchanged messages on his blog," Jamal said. "They prayed for him. They watched his videos. They fell under his spell of influence."But in the flux of Little Mogadishu, not everyone hears the words of jihad as clearly as others.Outside the community center, the group of young men continued their discussion about the fighters who had gone back to Somalia.To Noor Bosir, an 18-year-old student, the jihad seems a world away.
Although he was close to Burhan Hasan, one of the youths who was killed last summer in Somalia, Bosir can't understand the alienation many young men here feel."All these guys who left, we looked up to," Bosir said. "When we came here to play basketball, they would go to the mosque. And somehow, they got brainwashed. And now they're dead."
bob.drogin@latimes.com

Terrorism probe casts scrutiny on Minneapolis' Somali immigrant ...‎

I have been discussing this issue and against terrorism for quite a long time . as a society, we have not been able to discuss this issue.. "We will have an opportunity to discuss this issue .... Whatever the reason,there's still a lot of unanswered questions
will the media look into The Hawiye clan influence?
Here are some tips
May 28, 2007 at 03:59 PM
HAWIYE COMMITTEE OF MINNESOTA, U.S.A
Press Release on Somalia
Hawiye clan spreads rumours and propaganda ,the hate propaganda at the time

http://www.dhagaxtuur.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1308&Itemid=35

Hawiye clan Using Religion for Political Purpose

Hawiye Committee of Minnesota
Imam Cabdi Yusuf Ugas aka (imam Abdi yusuf ). Xasan Jarmal Ugas aka(Hasan Ugas ) aka Jarmal. Xuseen Iidle aka Husian Idal . Mohamed Ismail (Shuke)Col. Cabaas Mohamud Adow aka (abaas mohamad) Col. Abukar Xuud aka(abukar xud) Dr. Cabdullahi Sh. Mohamed aka (abdilahi sheik mohamed ) Cabdijabar Cabdullahi Cali aka (abdi -jibar abdulahi ali) Xaji Xusen Caraale )aka( hussan araale) Cabdinasir Macalin Aden aka abdinasir mailan aden )Abdi Ali (Faroole)Mohamed Godax aka (mahamad godah)Abdi Muxumud Macalin (Abdi-door)aka (abdi mahamud malin )Raage Xaji Dhoore aka Rage haji dore)Khalif Ali Shire ( kalif ali shire)Mohamed Farah Ahmed ,Bashir Farah (Bashir Gurey),Mohamed Xusen Xassan aka (mohamad hussan hasan)Cabdi Mohamed (Abdi-dheere)aka abdi Mohamad (abdi dere)Mohamed Abdullahi (Tiiceey), Abdiaziz Xogolof aka abdi aziz hogalof) Siciid Siigaale aka (said sigale ), Hassan Jocle

Gudiga Hawiye ee Minnesota Means Hawiye Committee of Minnesota

ugas means tribal chief.

a tribal chief- of one Hawiye's dominant sub-clans

Liberal Media: is either very naïve, very disingenuous, or willfully ignorant. ...

This article describes The Problem of Terrorism.

Dec 15, 2007 Homeland Insecurity: Terrorist Fundraising in the .

Hardline rebels take Somali border town near Keny

MOGADISHU, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Rebels suspected of links to al Qaeda seized a Somali town near the Kenyan border on Saturday, sending civilians fleeing towards the neighbouring country. Al Shabaab insurgents, who Washington says are a proxy in Somalia for Osama bin Laden's group, drove into the town of Dhobley after rival insurgents, Hizbul Islam, fled."I see a lot of battle wagons and heavily-armed militia. They came into the town a few minutes ago and they have captured the police station ... without any fighting," said Dhobley resident Nor Yusuf Ali by telephone.Together, the two rebel groups have been fighting the Western-backed government in the capital Mogadishu, but a battle for control of the lucrative southern port of Kismayu has pitted the former allies against each other.Violence has plagued Somalia since 1991 and about 19,000 civilians have been killed since the start of 2007 when Islamists launched an insurgency to topple the government.Western nations and neighbouring countries fear regions under al Shabaab's control are a haven for militants hoping to launch attacks in developed countries or destabilise the region."We got Dhobley without any war against us. Now it is under the control of the mujahideen. We will continue our fight against the infidels till we eradicate them from the region," an al Shabaab official told Reuters by telephone from Dhobley.A senior official of the group said in June the insurgents might "invade" Kenya unless it reduced troop numbers along the border near places such as Dhobley

BORDER CLOSED

Kenya shut its border with Somalia in January 2007. However, thousands of Somalis still cross the porous desert frontier to reach overflowing refugee camps in Kenya, often by bribing police along the way. [ID:nLU461234]"The border is totally closed but people are trying to enter the refugee camps. Kenya has deployed more troops on the border," an aid agency official in Dhobley, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.The rebels have brought a semblance of stability to areas they control but their harsh practices have alienated many traditionally moderate Muslims in the failed state."We don't know where we are going to. I and my six young children fled from Dhobley. We have left behind everything We had, our houses and belongings," said Qadra Jamac as she headed to Kenya with her children late last week. "The border is very hard to enter but we will try our luck."The group's aim is to impose its own strict version of sharia -- Islamic law -- throughout Somalia. It has banned music, sport, videos, and shaving. They desecrate graves, behead rival clerics and publicly stone to death women accused of adultery.Al Shabaab appealed to Dhobley residents to stay put, saying they would bring order to the town a few kilometres from Kenya, but some residents left anyway, fearing more violence."They are rumours saying the Hizbul Islam militia is near the town ... that is why we are fleeing to the neighbouring refugee camps," said 54-year-old Abdi Omar. "We don't know where to stay."http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSGEE5AR03T._CH_.2400

UN expert urges end to inhuman practices after recent stonings

Al-Shabaab militiamen in southern Somalia

27 November 2009 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today condemned the series of stonings that have been taking place in Somalia, and called for an urgent end to such “cruel, inhuman and degrading” practices.
Shamsul Bari said the public stonings, floggings and summary executions carried out by Islamist armed groups in central and southern Somalia highlight the “deteriorating” human rights situation in the strife-torn nation, where Government forces have been battling Al Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam opposition groups for many months. Mr. Bari, the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, noted that under Al Shabaab's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married – even a divorcee – and has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery and punished by stoning. According to reports from a village near the town of Wajid, 400 kilometres north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, a 20-year-old divorcee accused of committing adultery was stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of 200 people on 18 November. Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for rape in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu, and in October two men are reported to have been executed after being accused of spying. Similar executions took place earlier in the year. “I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning in Al Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia,” Mr. Bari stated in a news release. He called on all parties to immediately end such cruel, inhuman and degrading practices, including stoning, amputations, floggings and other unlawful acts of torture and murder. In addition, he urged all Islamist groups, including Al Shabaab and other armed groups, and religious leaders to abide by their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian laws. He also urged the international community to engage with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to identify priorities in terms of security, humanitarian and human rights, and to strengthen the Government's capacity to investigate rights abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Mr. Bari reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33079&Cr=Somali&Cr1=

somali Video of the Week

week's best video clips.

Two international journalists were released Wednesday after more than a year in captivity in Somalia

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2009/11/26/silvaggio.somalia.freed.journalists.cnn.html

Nov. 25: Mustafa Haji Abdinur of the Agence France-Presse, talks about the continuing strife and unrest in Somali. (Other) Somalia - Africa ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34152825#34152825

AU troops in Somalia go for six months without pay

Failure by African Union officials to account for millions of dollars for Somalia operations has dried up payments for the 4,500 peace-keeping troops after upset donors abruptly halted disbursements.A top diplomat says this could affect the morale of the soldiers to tackle threats from radical Al Shabab militants bidding to topple Sheik Sharif’s beleaguered Federal Transitional Government.Ambassador Nicholas Bwakira, AU’s special representative to Somalia, told the Voice of America in an interview published yesterday, that Ugandan and Burundian troops in the restive Mogadishu were last given allowances in May.“This has a very bad impact on the morale of the troops and that of the government concerned,” the envoy said, citing already 80 deaths of AU troops, as further disincentive. Uganda has lost 37 troops in Somalia while Burundi, the other only troop-contributing African country, has had 43 of its soldiers felled, mainly in roadside bomb explosions.With each soldier on duty in Mogadishu budgeted to earn an average $550 (about Shs1 million) each month, the arrears due to the 3,000 UPDF soldiers alone over the months, the seventh being the ending November, thus add to some $11.6 million (Shs21.6 billion).Yesterday, Defence Spokesman Felix Kulayigye, said the ministry has been “engaging” officials at the AU headquarters over the financial blues, but the outstanding arrears for the peacekeepers is for four months.“We are confident the matter will be sorted out sooner rather than later,” he said, adding, “Our troops know that they are not in Mogadishu for money. They have a mission to accomplish and are doing their work very well.”He said soldiers deployed on the Somalia mission are having their monthly pay from the army here wired to their accounts regularly. The bad news is that AU is broke and incoming international financing, including under the $295 million (Shs551 billion) pledged at the April donor’s conference in Brussels, is but just a trickle.For instance, the Somali government has thus far got three million dollars of the pledged funds, with the US offering $2 million and the Arab League $1 million. The Somali Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman, who spoke to the Voice of America, worried about a bleak future for his government that is now stuck with a programme to train 10,000 Police as well as 5,000 soldiers.“Most of the regions in [Somalia] are now controlled by al-Shabab that has links with Al-Qaeda,” Mr Osman said.“So, if this continues, what will happen is [that] the Al-Shabab will become the next government and we will see the next Afghanistan in Somalia and that is what we don’t want.”http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/AU_troops_in_Somalia_go_for_six_months_without_pay_95224.shtml

Hidden threat from al-Qaeda sleeper cells

Al-Qaeda terrorists are exploiting loose visa and immigration rules to enter Britain, the security services fear.

Counter-terrorism police and Whitehall officials believe dozens of extremists could have arrived here by posing as students or legitimate visitors. They are concerned both by the relatively lax checks that are made on the visitors before they arrive and by the ease with which they can outstay their visas without anyone noticing. As many as 13,000 visa applicants may have entered the country from Pakistan in a seven month period since October last year without any checks on their supporting documentation. The security services fear that because most do not mix with home grown terrorists, they are able to operate under the intelligence radar, acting as sleeper cells until ready to launch attacks in Britain. Every year around 100,000 visitors arrive in Britain from Pakistan alone, which has been described by the Prime Minister as being part of a "crucible of terror" along with Afghanistan. They are supposed to be checked by Home Office visa staff working in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. But according to an official watchdog, the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance, many visa officers do not have "enough time to go through applications carefully". The security services are also worried about arrivals from Somalia, Yemen and North Africa. MI5 have got 2,000 domestic extremists under surveillance across the country but is becoming increasingly concerned about the threat from abroad. Similar concerns are felt in the police and one senior counter-terrorism officer told the Daily Telegraph: "There is a lack of control and supervision at our borders in the broadest sense. "The problem is not confined to Pakistan, terrorists could arrive from anywhere, and we simply have no idea how many extremists may be here." Police have discovered that the leader of an alleged plot to blow up shopping centres in Manchester last Easter ran a visa advice service in Peshawar, Pakistan. He is thought to have helped other alleged members of his terrorist cell to arrive from Pakistan under the cover of student visas. At least one arrived to attend a course at a "bogus college" that had already had its accreditation withdrawn. The discovery of the group based in Manchester and Liverpool earlier this year set off alarm bells among counter-terrorismofficials who believed the threat was coming under control. One source said: "Borders have always been an issue because they are a vulnerability but the Manchester group brought that home because they had a different profile from what we had been dealing with."
A police source added: "The arrests in Manchester were a good example of the problem and afterwards we had a lot of discussions within government. We are now relying on the UK Border Agency to sort the problem out. "Part of the problem seems to be that foreign students generate a huge amount of money and there is not a lot of incentive to do proper checks." Providing courses for foreign students has become a multimillion pound business but the Home Affairs Select Committee said in July that "tens of thousands" of illegal immigrants could have entered Britain using visas obtained through bogus colleges. It said there could be up to 2,200 colleges that were not legitimate but were accredited by the Government under a system operating until March this year. It noted there was "no adequate provision" for tracking down those that had arrived illegally and overstayed their visas. One of the bodies responsible for checking the colleges, the Accreditation Service for International Colleges, based at a semi-detached house in a village near Middlesbrough, has itself been criticised by a body representing British universities, Universities UK. ..More..http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6672806/Hidden-threat-from-al-Qaeda-sleeper-cells.html

Canadian Somalia hostage freed when taxi lights flicked, CBC News - World - Shots fired during Lindhout release

Amanda Lindhout's 15 months of captivity ended with the flick of car lights on a road south of Mogadishu and the transfer of more than half a million dollars.
Somalia's prime minister and senior government officials revealed details to the Star of the dramatic release after Canadian Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan arrived safely Thursday in Nairobi, Kenya, aboard a chartered plane.
The 28-year-old freelance journalist from Alberta, who said she was beaten by her kidnappers and kept alone in a windowless room for months, spent the night in a Nairobi hospital. Canadian officials would not comment on her condition. ..more..http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/731580--canadian-somalia-hostage-freed-when-taxi-lights-flicked?bn=1
Shots fired during Lindhout release

Internet stimulates terrorism and crime

The head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police warns that internet is raising the risk of terrorism and international crime. Bundeskriminalamt chief Joerg Ziercke says criminal organisations and terrorist networks are increasingly cooperating via internet. Speaking at an annual police conference in Wiesbaden, he said such groups use internet to obtain materials that cannot be found locally and make payments through third parties. He emphasised that problems such as Mexico's drugs war, Somalia's piracy, the Italian mafia or people trafficking in Russia no longer are national problems but require an improved international approach http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/internet-stimulates-terrorism-and-crime

'They treated us like dogs'—Freed crew on Habar-gidir Hawiye Pirates, FACTBOX-Ships held by Somali pirates

Stinking filthy habar-gidir hawiye Taking people hostage. Shows what animals the hawiye bastards are.
MOGADISHU – "Nightmarish" is the way the crew of the Al-Meezan cargo vessel recount their time in captivity at the hands of Somali pirates.One week after being freed, this Panama-flagged ship with 18 sailors on board, including 15 Indians and two Pakistanis, is anchored in the port of Mogadishu.Somali dockers, with traditional wraps round their waists, shout as they shift sacks of flour on the quay, under the gaze of the crew members on the gangway.The second officer Niaz Mohamad, a Pakistani, welcomed the journalists on board by saying he was relieved to be able to talk to "normal" people."They treated us like dogs, they hit us, they threatened to kill us," he said, obviously still traumatized by his time in captivity.Al-Meezan set sail October 25 from Ajman (in the United Arab Emirates) for Mogadishu," said the ship's captain Mohamad Shafi Noor, a grandfather of 70 with a mane of grey hair."It was my first mission," he sighed.
"On November 3, when we were about 150 nautical miles from the Somali coast, we were chased by three small boats with very powerful engines. It's all in the logbook," the old man said, pointing to a black book on the table."We'd hardly had time to raise the alarm when the attackers were already on board. They're very intelligent. They immediately took over the controls, switched off all the electronic equipment and headed for Garacad" in north eastern Somalia where the ship anchored in the shelter of a small island, he said.Al-Meezan is one of the rare ships of this size that regularly sails to Mogadishu and was already captured by pirates last May.Great controversy surrounded its latest capture after a Somali official said the vessel was carrying a big cargo of small arms.The accusation was denied by the owner of the cargo, Abdi Ali Farah, a Somali who heads the Juba General Trading Company. He said the ship was carrying only sugar and general merchandise.Built in 1979, the 2,000-ton 50-meter long Al-Meezan is managed from Dubai by Biyat International.The Al-Meezan 7906710 is owned by a company called Shahmir Maritime based in the Carribean Grenadine Islands and described by people who know it as a front company.Chartered by Somali businessmen, the ship mostly plies between the Gulf States and Somalia. When it was captured for the first time around the pirates were already claiming it had arms on board."For this latest trip "we had on board sugar, construction materials and some vehicles," captain Noor said with an exasperated gesture.The pirates kept the 18 crew members locked up 24 hours a day in a tiny room on the upper deck.The only Somali crew member did the translating."When he wasn't around if you wanted to go to the toilet you had to raise your little finger." The most critical point came on November 17 "when they told us to take the ship in to shore – we thought they were going to kill us", Noor said.
The boat was freed the next day. The captain and his men said they had no idea if a ransom had been paid. "It was the duty of all those people who made a lot of money out of us to pay up and save us," one tearful crew member told Agence France-Presse in his cabin. Noor, who feels "relatively safe" in Mogadishu port, said he was waiting for instructions and was ready to go back to sea. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20091127-238705/Unicef-employee-shot-dead
FACTBOX-Ships held by Somali pirates

Lindhout gets medical care after hostage ordeal,Dick Smith helped pay Aussie ransom‎

Stinking filthy habar-gidir hawiye Taking people hostage. Shows what animals the hawiye bastards are.
Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout is said to be receiving medical attention for the trauma she endured during 15 months in captivity in Somalia, a country she finally left Thursday morning.
After meeting with the prime minister of Somalia's transitional federal government, who offered an official apology, Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan — who was kidnapped with her — left Mogadishu and flew to freedom in Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya, where they were taken to a hotel by Canadian and Australian officials and reportedly were met by Lindhout's mother. The pair made no comment on their arrival.
Daud Abdi Daud Dhimbil of the Somali Journalist Rights Agency, which has been tracking the case, said the two journalists were receiving private medical care in Nairobi. "The current condition of the journalists is not good," Daud said from Nairobi. "They need to rest and get enough medication. They suffered torture and were beaten. "You can understand there is some amount of confusion, so they need more medication and more rest. They feel tired, and mentally as well, they feel tired." He said Lindhout and Brennan were being treated by medical staff, but not in one of the city's hospitals, adding that Lindhout was with her mother and government officials. At home, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canadians were relieved at the news of Lindhout's release from captivity, but offered a direct warning to other Canadians in Somalia or those considering travelling to the lawless nation...more..http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Canadians+warned+stay+Somalia+hostage+freed/2268520/story.html
Dick Smith helped pay Aussie ransom‎

Freed journalist arrives in Nairobi,Tortured and locked in chains: Two journalists are released after 15-month kidnap in Somalia

Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday, a day after being released in Somalia following 15 months of captivity.A small plane carried Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan, who had been taken hostage with her, from Mogadishu, Somalia.Journalists were kept well away from Lindhout and Brennan at the airport in Mogadishu by Somali officials.Following a reunion with her mother in Nairobi, who has been in Kenya for two weeks trying to win her daughter's release, Lindhout was expected to go to a hospital for a checkup."Amanda's parents are overjoyed and request continued privacy for the family while they focus on Amanda and her transition back to normal life," said Lindhout family spokeswoman Sarah Geddes. "They will return to Canada as soon as Amanda is fit to fly home.
Geddes said that Brennan has also been reunited with his family.Sources with knowledge of the negotiations have confirmed to CBC News that the total ransom paid for the release of Lindhout and Brennan was $600,000 US.Lindhout said Wednesday that she was kept in "extremely oppressive" conditions that included torture and beatings.A freelance television and print reporter from Sylvan Lake, Alta., Lindhout was usually based in Baghdad. She wrote for the Red Deer Advocate newspaper, reporting from war zones in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan...more..http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/26/amanda-lindhout-freed-kenya.html?ref=rss
Stinking filthy habar-gidir hawiye Taking people hostage. Shows what animals the hawiye bastards are.

Tortured and locked in chains: Two journalists are released after 15-month kidnap in Somalia Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231041/Tortured-locked-chains-Two-journalists-released-15-month-kidnap-Somalia.html#ixzz0XzbrtKGD

Joy as Australian released from brutal Somali kidnapping

SYDNEY - Emotional relatives of Somalia kidnap victim Nigel Brennan expressed joy on Thursday at his release from more than a year of brutal captivity, when he was pistol-whipped and spent months in chains.Sister-in-law Kellie Brennan fought back tears as she recounted the family's nerve-wracking vigil since the photojournalist's capture along with Canadian reporter Amanda Lindhout in August 2008."It's very hard to express the overwhelming sense of joy that we have today that we feel as a family at the news of Nigel and Amanda's release," she told reporters.One kidnapper, who did not want to be identified, told AFP that a one-million U.S. dollar ransom was paid to free the pair, who left Mogadishu by plane under heavy pro-government militia escort on Thursday but their destination was unknown.Brennan's family said he was to be flown out for medical checks before returning home.Queensland Premier Anna Bligh shed light on the photographer's grim ordeal."Mr Brennan has revealed that he had been pistol-whipped and locked in chains for the past 10 months after a failed escape attempt," she told state parliament.In May, Brennan, 38, told AFP by phone that he was in fading health and had been in chains for months, and begged his government for help.
Canberra refused to comment on what, if any role it had played in securing Brennan's release, or whether it objected to the payment of a ransom...more..http://www.canada.com/news/Australian+photographer+pistol+whipped/2268686/story.html

Freed journalist was 'beaten and tortured'

Stinking filthy habar-gidir hawiye Taking people hostage. Shows what animals the hawiye bastards are.
Finally freed from her Somali kidnappers, an Alberta journalist is recalling being tortured and beaten while held captive for 15 months.Amanda Lindhout told CTV in a telephone interview that she and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were released Wednesday after a ransom was “paid by our families” to their captors.Lindhout and Brennan were kidnapped in Aug. 23, 2008, while doing freelance journalism work in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.Lindhout told CTV she was doing research on “internally displaced people” in Somalia when the vehicle she was riding in was ambushed. She and Brennan were then taken around the country and kept in different locations under “extremely oppressive conditions.”“There were times that I was beaten, that I was tortured. It was an extremely difficult situation,” she said, adding food was scarce and she was only permitted to use the toilet five times a day.She said she didn't know her kidnappers but figured they were criminals “under the guise of being freedom fighters for Somalia.”When she was allowed to speak to her mother once every few months, she was given a script and forbidden to say what she wanted. She said she was also forced to contact various media outlets as her captors believed this would lead to the payment of a $1-million ransom.“In that darkness, I would just try to escape in my mind to a sunny place, usually Vancouver — in my mind — I would imagine running around Stanley Park and things like that, and that kept me going.”The press secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon issued a statement declining to comment on the case.“We are aware of the reports. We will not comment or release any information which may endanger the safety of a Canadian or other citizen,” said Natalie Sarafian.Lindhout's aunt also declined to comment when contacted by phone, adding the only news she was aware of was what had been broadcast on television.Group members on several Facebook groups dedicated to Amanda Lindhout's rejoiced upon learning she had been freed.“Extremely wonderful news. Praying for the safe transit home and back into the arms of their families so desperately waiting to be reunited. Alberta is waiting for you, Amanda,” one woman wrote.http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2009/11/25/11923471.html

Somalia policy needs time to work: US military

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The United States will persevere with its policy of supporting Somalia's fragile government because restoring security there will take time, the top U.S. military commander for Africa said on Wednesday.
The U.S. military has been providing weapons and training to forces loyal to Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, but the government still only controls a few blocks of the capital with the rest of the country in the hands of Islamist rebels.
"What's going on in Somalia did not just get that way. It won't correct itself overnight either," General William E. Ward, commander of the U.S. military's Africa Command, told reporters during a visit to Algeria.
"And so the current policy, that has international support, not just from the United States, to reinforce, to help the transitional federal government, and be supportive of the African Union mission to Somalia is where we ... also see our big contribution," he said.
The al Shabaab militant group, who Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia, has been waging a two-and-a-half year insurgency against the central government to impose its harsh version of Sharia law throughout the country.
Troops from the African Union are protecting government sites in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
Western security agencies say Somalia has become a safe haven for militants who use it to plot attacks on Western targets, and also a bolt-hole for pirates who have been hijacking ships in the Indian Ocean.
Ward was in the Algerian capital for meetings with officials that focused on the threat from violent extremism in another part of Africa, around the Sahara desert.
He said the U.S. military would continue to provide counter-terrorism training to Sahara region governments but that there were no plans for U.S. forces to take part directly in operations against insurgents. Continued... 2 Next Page

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

I want to wish all of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving,Since I’m in the thanksgiving mood, I want to let you know that we’re thankful for YOU, our faithful readers. Without you, this site would be pointless — the conversations we have, the varied opinions of our contributors and the wealth of information we can share with each other makes this whole endeavor completely worthwhile. We may not always agree on everything, and that’s ok…variety is the spice of life. So, thanks!!!

Kidnapped journalists' 15 months of hell is over...Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.Freed journalists leave Somalia

Freed foreign journalists leave Somalia‎
Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan says he was kept isolated and tortured during the 15 months he was held captive in the troubled African country of Somalia.
Mr Brennan says he is OK after he and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were released on Wednesday. It has been reported that their families paid a $US1 million ($1.09 million) ransom to the kidnappers to secure their release, but that has not been confirmed.

Relieved relative warns: 'Not out of harms way yet'
'My day was sitting in a corner, on the floor, 24 hours a day for the last 15 months'



Brennan said he was relieved and safe and looking forward to going home after being released after 15 months in captivity.He has spoken to his sister in Australia, but had been instructed not to talk any further, the Seven Network said.But he also spoke to the Reuters news agency, saying it had "been pretty arduous, the last 15 months"."Locked in a room, very little light. I haven't been able to exercise at all. You know, simple things like being told not to smile, not to laugh - not that there was much to laugh about," he told Reuters by phone from his hotel in Mogadishu."But my friend Amanda had a pretty rough time, I know that. She was severely beaten and we were both tortured both mentally and physically."Being pistol whipped is sort of torture, being completely stripped of everything and then locked in a room, no one to speak to, is a form of torture really."Mr Brennan's sister-in-law Kellie Brennan will make a brief statement to the media in Sydney at 11am (AEDT). Australian and Canadian government officials have made no comment so far.Mr Brennan said he and Ms Lindhout - who were held separately - had no idea they were about to be released."Tonight we were ripped out of our rooms, stripped of everything, told to put on new clothes and then thrown in a car and then driven - we had no idea what was going on," he said."We've been through a pretty rough time, both of us. Just to be free is amazing."Ms Lindhout told Canadian television she was beaten and tortured during her captivity."It was extremely oppressive. I was kept by myself at all times. I had no one to speak to. I was normally kept in a room with a light, no window. I had nothing to write on or with. There was very little food. I was allowed to use the toilet exactly five times a day," Lindhout told CTV."So, basically, my day was sitting on a corner, on the floor, 24 hours a day for the last 15 months."There were times that I was beaten, that I was tortured. It was an extremely, extremely difficult situation."Earlier, Somali MP Ahmed Diiriye announced the release.
"We have now brought both foreign journalists to the Sahafi hotel. We have been working for eight days on their release, but finally succeeded."I don't want to comment on how we released them now."Brennan started his media career in the Queensland city of Bundaberg, where he is from.Bundaberg state MP Jack Dempsey said he was incredibly relieved to hear Brennan had been freed."It’s fantastic news," he told ABC Radio."It’s quite unbelievable ... it's like a whole sense of joy to hear the news and also a sense of relief for the community of Bundaberg as well as the family."He described Brennan as "very enthusiastic and passionate"."He had a lot of friends, he was a very loving and caring character," he said."It will be great to be able to have him back in the community and the community will certainly be overjoyed."Reminder of the dangers of journalismChris Warren of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Australia's journalists' union, said it was "fantastic news to hear that they're out and they're alive".He said the capture of the two journalists was a reminder that journalism could be an incredibly dangerous occupation."It's also a reminder to the world journalism community that we should never forget colleagues when this happens to them."We should always be trying to persuade others, such as governments and those that have got influence, to get them out."15-month captivityBrennan, a freelance Australian photojournalist, and Lindhout, a Canadian freelance reporter, were kidnapped in Mogadishu in August 2008.A Somali journalist, Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, who was working as their interpreter, was also kidnapped. He was released in January."We are happy. Our health is OK. We could not believe that we are free," Lindhout told The Associated Press."Tonight is a big day for us. We sent our family and friends a message that we are free and will be with them soon after a long time in captivity."Police spokesman Colonel Abdulhai Hassan Barise said Brennan and Lindhout were at the hotel with Somali lawmaker Botan Isse Alin. Barise and Alin declined to say if ransom was paid for their release.
"We are happy the two are released," said Alin.
Ransom
A kidnapper, who refused to identify himself, told Agence France-Presse a ransom of $US1 million had been paid for the release.Lindhout told Canadian television from her hotel room that she and Brennan were released after a ransom "was paid by our families" to the kidnappers.
"I believe [the kidnappers] are taking that money and, as far as I understand, they plan on leaving the country," Lindhout told CTV."It’s a long story. It’s been sort of going on for the last couple of weeks, and tonight finally everything came together and the men who had kidnapped us turned us over to the Federal Government in Somalia," Lindhout said."They seemed to think that if they beat me enough, then when I was able to speak to my mother - which they would put me on the line with her every couple of months - that I would be able to say the right thing to convince her to pay the ransom for me, which was $US1 million."Of course, my family didn't have $US1 million and it didn't matter what I said to them. But they didn’t really understand that. They thought: she’s Canadian, everyone in Canada is rich. She must have $US1 million."
Pierre Ambrose, the Africa co-ordinator for Reporters without Borders, told smh.com.au he could confirm that the duo's detention conditions were harsh...more..http://www.smh.com.au/world/kidnapped-journalists-15-months-of-hell-is-over-20091126-js52.html
Stinking filthy habar-gidir hawiye Taking people hostage. Shows what animals the hawiye bastards are.

Thank goodness! I never dreamed this was possible.

Traditional African Drug Appearing In San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- At the Coffee Time Daily café in City Heights, a group of Somali immigrants gathers to share coffee and stories. In another time, and another place, instead of drinking coffee, men their age might be chewing a plant known as khat. "People just enjoy it based on the culture, the way they were brought up," explained Omar Yusuf. He says khat to Somalis is what cigarettes or alcohol is to Americans. "Just to make yourself, not to be depressed, just to be happy," he said. The plant is grown in Eastern Africa. It's a major crop for Yemen and has been chewed for centuries in countries around the Horn of Africa including Somalia, Yemen, and Ethiopia. In many parts of the world, khat is legal. However, in the United States its main ingredient is considered by federal law on par with heroin or crystal meth. The entire plant is outlawed in California and seizures are up. "It's been gradually growing," said Amy Roderick, special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Khat was first seen in San Diego in the late 1990s, and then it spiked in 2005, according to the DEA. Khat-related seizures and arrests have so far been limited to within the Somali community, which is sizable in San Diego County. The fear is that khat usage will spread beyond the typical traditional users. "As with any other illegal substance, there is a significant amount of money to be made," Roderick said. Typically, the plant arrives in the United States from other countries where it is legal. It loses its potency within 48 hours of being harvested, so it's often smuggled through express mail. "Or private courier, like UPS or DHL," Roderick explained. In September, two parcels of nearly 80 pounds of khat labeled "green tea" were intercepted by the Department of Homeland Security. They were shipped from London and addressed to an apartment in City Heights. A woman who is staying in that apartment said that her relative, Amina Issak, was arrested and is still in jail. Issak and another Somali woman are each facing one count of felony possession to sell. Issak's attorney Frank Birchak said he can't comment about the facts of the case, other than "I think the story will be very different than what the DA is charging."..more..
http://www.10news.com/news/21654022/detail.html

Minnesota man accused of hosting get-together for Somali men headed for terrorism

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota man hosted a gathering for several Somalis days before they left Minneapolis to fight with a terrorist group in their war-torn homeland, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday in a sweeping federal investigation. Mohamud Said Omar, 43, who is in custody in the Netherlands, is accused of being involved with many of the roughly 20 young men who left Minneapolis in waves from December 2007 through November 2008. Omar is among 14 people charged in the investigation some terrorism experts call one of the largest of its kind. "The numbers are huge compared to other domestic terrorism cases that have been brought," said Michael Greenberger, director of the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security. Several individuals are accused in court documents of a mix of recruiting and raising funds for travel and of engaging in terrorist acts in Somalia. Some allegedly attended training camps run by the group al-Shabab, which the U.S. says has ties to al-Qaida. All but one of the men who left the Minneapolis area are of Somali descent. "We haven't seen anything like that before in the United States," Ralph S. Boelter, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis field office, said of the case. "The recruitment is a global problem. ... It varies in intensity from place to place. I think (Minneapolis) is the center of it."
AllegationsAn affidavit unsealed Tuesday alleges the young Somalis' departures began with six men leaving in December 2007. Another left the following February, two more that August and another six last November. The affidavit by Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk states that before the first group left in 2007, Omar gave travel money to some "members of the conspiracy."In January 2008, Omar allegedly went to Somalia himself, stayed at an al-Shabab safehouse for several days and provided money to purchase AK-47 assault rifles, the affidavit says. Omar returned to the U.S. that April and was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Atlanta because he had an expired Minnesota driver's license, purchased his airline ticket with cash and was returning from a three-month trip to Somalia, according to another FBI affidavit. In August 2008, Omar allegedly accompanied two men bound for Somalia to the airport and that November hosted a gathering that included several young men who left for Somalia in the following days to join al-Shabab, according to court documents. Two of Omar's brothers in Minnesota previously have said he is innocent of terror-related charges and is not an extremist. They did not return telephone calls Tuesday. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of 7 million. Minnesota has the largest population of Somali immigrants of any U.S. state. Four men have pleaded guilty in Minneapolis to charges ranging from supporting terrorism to perjury and are awaiting sentencing. Another man, Omer Abdi Mohamed, 24, of St. Anthony, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to terror-related charges. He is free on bond. "Omer had absolutely no connection with a terrorist then, now, or ever," said his attorney, Peter Wold. Seven others charged in the case are believed to be outside the United States. "Some of them could have already met their demise," Boelter said. "We just don't know."

Western terrorism recruits in Somalia,Janitor implicated in Somali inquiry

Yesterday, I posted about my first installment in a four-part series for Canada's National Post related to homegrown terrorism. Today the Post ran the second part, which examines Western recruits to the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabaab. An excerpt:
Beginning in late 2007, dozens of young men of Somali descent started disappearing from diaspora communities in the West. It turned out they were returning to Somalia to train in Shabaab camps or to take up arms against Shabaab’s enemies within the country. Islamists of non-Somali descent were also travelling there to join Shabaab.This phenomenon has been repeating itself in a number of countries. Canadian government sources claim that 20 to 30 Canadians have joined Shabaab — a development that public safety minister Peter Van Loan has said “alarmed” him. In the U.S., the disappearances have primarily clustered around Minneapolis-St. Paul, but there are credible reports of disappearances in other U.S. cities with large Somali populations as well. The Times of London reports that British security services believe “[d]ozens of Islamic extremists have returned to Britain from terror training camps in Somalia.” SAPO, Sweden’s security service, believes that about 20 people have left that country to join Shabaab. And Australian authorities think as many as 40 Somali refugees may have gone from Australia to Somalia to liaise with Shabaab.Many factors cause young men in the West to join Somali Islamist movements. For one, the Somali diaspora is less integrated than other immigrant communities; this can lead to disaffection and the development of a mythologized sense of homeland, leaving newcomers especially vulnerable to recruitment.There is also a political dimension to support for Shabaab. In March 2009 U.S. Senate testimony, Professor Ken Menkhaus noted that Shabaab thrives on the “complex cocktail of nationalist, Islamist, anti-Ethiopian, anti-Western, anti-foreigner sentiments” that resulted from Ethiopia’s December 2006 invasion of Somalia.Of course, there’s a religious aspect too. American convert Daniel Maldonado, who pleaded guilty in April 2007 to receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization, told U.S. authorities that when he decided to travel to Somalia, it was to fight jihad — something he described in religious terms as “raising the word of Allah, uppermost, by speaking and fighting against all those who are against the Islamic State.”You can read the full article here.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/11/western_terrorism_recruits_in.php

Janitor implicated in Somali inquiry‎

Continent Looks Beyond 'War On Terror'

The government of Mali declared in early June that it would mount a "merciless struggle" against terrorist forces operating in the country's far northern desert. President Amadou Toumani Touré vowed that the killers of a British hostage, murdered just a few days earlier, would not escape unpunished. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a predominantly Algerian dissident group that had claimed credit for the execution, reacted a few days later by assassinating a colonel in the Malian intelligence service Then within less than a week the Malian army launched its first major operations against AQIM bases near the northern border with Algeria, reportedly killing up to two dozen fighters. In subsequent clashes Mali lost some of its own troops.
By directly engaging with AQIM, the Malian authorities demonstrated their willingness to respond to armed challenges with force. Yet Mali's overall approach to conflict goes well beyond military reactions. Since the 1990s, Tuareg and other ethnic rebels have been active in Mali's arid Sahel region. By considering their political and economic grievances, the government has succeeded in persuading many fighters to lay down their weapons.
The establishment of a democratic system in 1992 has facilitated political dialogue, and provides citizens with ways to peacefully air their concerns. Mali has a vibrant civil society and free press as well as a record of respecting human rights. Although the government has few financial resources, it has devoted much attention to trying to improve conditions for its poorest citizens.
Across Africa, other countries face similar challenges as they try to address immediate security threats while simultaneously pursuing long-range priorities. But because the continent confronts so many pressing problems, tackling terrorism has so far not taken a high profile, despite the calls to wage "war on terror" that have been so prominent internationally since the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
As Kenyan journalist Mutuma Mathiu summarized the common African view: "For people who have to work reasonably hard to put bread on the table, have to fight AIDS and the escalating cost of living, terrorism appears to be a distant threat. The threat of having nothing for dinner is more immediate."
New approach

Recent moves by some major powers away from a narrowly militaristic response has now created space for a new approach, noted a group of experts on terrorism convened by the United Nations. A 3-4 June meeting of the experts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressed the importance of Africa's becoming more engaged in efforts to counter terrorist activities on the continent. But it also highlighted the need to "strengthen the African voice in the global discussion on terrorism," said Patrick Hayford, director of the UN's Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), which organized the event. The participants noted that the adoption in 2006 of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (see box) had marked a shift away from a "hard" military style in countering terrorism, towards a more nuanced approach that combines concerns over security with the pursuit of development and the promotion of human rights. Along those lines, the experts welcomed US President Barack Obama's moves to shed the rhetoric of the previous administration. That shift, they said, fosters a global climate that is more favourable to the UN's strategy. On 4 June - by coincidence the final day of the experts' meeting - Mr. Obama was in Cairo for his first major address to the Islamic world. Although he touched on the events of 11 September, he did not use the charged word "terrorism" - which has been interpreted by some as anti-Muslim - and repeatedly emphasized the importance of dialogue for building broad alliances to counter extremist groups. According to Congressman Donald Payne, who heads the House of Representatives' subcommittee on Africa, broader US policy towards the continent will also shift. "This whole thing can't be the US's war on terror, whatever that was," he said. Instead, the administration will "concentrate on things that would prevent terror, like higher education."..more..http://allafrica.com/stories/200911270814.html

U.S. says men ran terror network

Federal authorities unsealed terrorism-related charges against eight men Monday, accusing them of recruiting at least 20 young Somali Americans from Minnesota to join an extremist Islamist insurgency in Somalia.
The newly named suspects make up one of the largest alleged terrorist networks in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, analysts said. Assistant Attorney General David S. Kris said the government continues to investigate the alleged recruitment, and sources indicated that FBI and grand jury inquiries are active in San Diego, Boston and Columbus, Ohio, into the disappearance abroad of dozens of Muslim Americans since 2007.
The charges cap a year-long FBI investigation into the departures, most of them among men of Somali descent in their teens and 20s, to join al-Shabab, an extremist group with ties to al-Qaeda.
Al-Shabab opposes Somalia's weak but internationally supported government and seeks instead a fundamentalist Islamic state under sharia law. It has attacked Ethiopian and African Union troops, targeted neighboring countries, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and used al-Qaeda operatives to train American recruits, U.S. officials said. The State Department listed al-Shabab as a terrorist group last year.
American officials said they worry that al-Qaeda operatives might "commission" a U.S. strike using al-Shabab's pipeline of American and European fighters, whose passports would make it easier for them to travel undetected, although officials have said they see no sign yet of such a threat.
Among those charged Monday was Mahamud Said Omar, a U.S. permanent resident arrested two weeks ago in the Netherlands. Omar paid for airfare and AK-47 assault rifles for several of the youths to join al-Shabab, officials said Monday at a news conference in Minneapolis. U.S. officials requested the arrest and seek his extradition. ..more...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR2009112303999.html

U.S. Somalis being trained by insurgents,Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged‎

Federal authorities yesterday unsealed terrorism-related charges against eight men, accusing them of recruiting at least 20 young Somali Americans from Minnesota to join an extremist Islamic insurgency in Somalia.
The newly named suspects make up one of the largest suspected terrorist networks in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, analysts said. Assistant Attorney General David Kris said the government continues to investigate the alleged recruitment, and sources indicated that FBI and grand jury inquiries are active in San Diego, Boston and Columbus, Ohio, into the disappearance abroad of dozens of Muslim Americans since 2007.
The charges cap a year-long FBI investigation into the departures, most of them among men of Somali descent in their teens and 20s, to join al-Shabaab, an extremist group with ties to al-Qaida.
Al-Shabaab opposes Somalia's weak but internationally supported government and seeks instead a fundamentalist Islamic state under sharia law. It has since attacked Ethiopian and African Union troops, targeted neighboring countries, pledged allegiance to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden last year and used al-Qaida operatives to train American recruits, U.S. officials said. The State Department listed al-Shabaab as a terrorist group last year.Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09328/1015882-84.stm#ixzz0XlHn9RYj
Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged‎

Somalia: “Islamic Extremists Execute Young Convert in Somalia”

“Christian accused of trying to convert Muslim teenager found shot on Mogadishu street.”– “Islamic extremists controlling part of the Somali capital of Mogadishu this month executed a young Christian they accused of trying to convert a 15-year-old Muslim to Christianity.”– “Members of the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab had taken 23-year-old Mumin Abdikarim Yusuf into custody on Oct. 28 after the 15-year-old boy reported him to the militants, an area source told Compass. Yusuf’s body was found on Nov. 14 on an empty residential street in Mogadishu, with sources saying the convert from Islam was shot to death, probably some hours before dawn.”,,more..http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/somalia/11836/

Somali-US youth told jihad would be 'fun'...Feds unseal new terror charges in long-running probe of men who left US to fight in Somalia

CHICAGO (AFP) - A group of Somali-American youth recruited to fight for an Islamist militia in Somalia were told it would be "fun," court documents have shown.Some 20 young men -- all but one of whom were of Somali descent -- have been recruited to leave their homes in Minnesota to join a bitter civil war an ocean away.One died while participating in a series of suicide bomb attacks in northern Somalia, officials said. Four other were also killed in the fighting, local media reports."The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia," US attorney Todd Jones said in a statement."These young men have been recruited to fight in a foreign war by individuals and groups using violence against government troops and civilians."Criminal charges have been filed against 14 men linked to the conspiracy to support terrorism and the investigation is "ongoing," the justice department said in a statement.All of those charged are from the Minneapolis area. Seven remain at large and are believed to be outside of the United States.Four of the men have pleaded guilty in the case and two others have been released pending trial, officials said.Mahamud Said Omar, who is accused of providing money to transport the youth to Somalia and buy them AK-47s, is currently being held in the Netherlands.Three of those who pleaded guilty are young men who admitted to traveling to Somalia to join the Al-Qaeda inspired Islamist group Shebab.They were among six youth who left Minneapolis in late 2007 to "fight the Ethiopians in Somalia," according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.The most recent group of recruits left in October 2009, officials said.One of the young men who pleaded guilty told investigators that the trainees at his camp"included dozens of other young ethnic Somalis from Somalia, elsewhere in Africa, Europe, and the United States."Two of the Minneapolis youth left after a week or two.The others were trained in the use of small arms and military-style tactics by Somali, Arab and Western instructors and were also "indoctrinated with anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-Western beliefs," the charging document said.One of the young men admitted to taking part in an armed ambush of Ethiopian troops with the young man who died at the wheel of an explosive-laden truck.Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, who remains at large, is accused of recruiting the young men in a series of meetings in homes, a local mosque and public places.
He allegedly spoke of his experience fighting along the Somali-Kenyan border and explained that "he experienced true brotherhood while fighting in Somalia and that travel for jihad was the best thing that they could do," the complaint alleges.Faarax also "told the co-conspirators that traveling to Somalia to fight jihad will be fun and not to be afraid."Abdiweli Yassin Isse is accused of raising money to finance the trips to Somalia by telling community members that he was raising money to send young men to study the Koran in Saudi Arabia.Both men are believed to be outside of the United States.US officials expressed gratitude to the Somali-American community for helping with the investigation."I emphasize the sole focus of our efforts in this matter has been the criminal conduct of a small number of mainly Somali-American individuals and not the broader Somali-American community itself, which has consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity in support of al-Shebab," said Ralph Boelter, who heads the Minneapolis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091124/world/us_attacks_somalia_youth_court_1

Feds unseal new terror charges in long-running probe of men who left US to fight in Somalia

Promising both "true brotherhood" and "fun," several Somali men convinced fellow immigrants in Minneapolis to return to their East African homeland and take up arms with a terrorist group, according to federal charges unsealed Monday against eight individuals, The charges are part of an unfolding federal investigation into the disappearance of as many as 20 young Somali men from Minneapolis over the last two years _ most of them U.S. citizens who federal authorities say are guilty of terrorism. Federal prosecutors say most of the men traveled to Somalia to join the terror group al-Shabab, which the U.S. State Department says has links to al-Qaeda.
Ralph S. Boelter, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis field office, called the latest round of indictments a "tipping point" in the more than yearlong investigation. "We have reached momentum, and reached a point where we will have full resolution of this case," Boelter said at a news conference with Minnesota's U.S. Attorney, B. Todd Jones.
Fourteen people have been charged in the investigation. The eight charged Monday are accused of a mix of recruiting and raising funds for the trips, and of engaging in terrorist acts in civil war-torn Somalia. Indictments say some attended terrorist training camps where they received instruction in firing small arms and machine guns, military style tactics and indoctrination in "anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-Western beliefs," according to a federal affidavit.
Two of those charged Monday helped raise money for the trips by approaching unknowing members of Minnesota's Somali community and soliciting funds by telling them it was to pay for trips for young Somali men to travel to Saudi Arabia and study the Koran, according to the affidavit.
Boelter and Jones said one reason they disclosed new details about the case was to reassure members of Minnesota's Somali community that the investigation is focused on a relatively small group of individuals. The larger community "has consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity," Jones said...more..http://www.newser.com/article/d9c5iju81/feds-unseal-new-terror-charges-in-long-running-probe-of-men-who-left-us-to-fight-in-somalia.html
FBI announces charges against al-Shabaab recruiters http://bit.ly/7g7yZR

8 charged in US-Somali youth terror network.Charges unsealed in missing Somalis terror probe‎ -

CHICAGO - Eight people face terrorism charges in the case of 20 young men missing from Minnesota after allegedly being recruited to fight for an Islamist militia in Somalia, officials said Monday.The young men -- all but one of whom were of Somali descent -- were allegedly recruited to fight in Somalia's bitter civil war, along with dozens of other young ethnic Somalis from Somalia and elsewhere in Africa, Europe and the United States.One of the 20 men died while taking part in a series of suicide bomb attacks in northern Somalia, officials said, while four others were killed in the fighting, according to local media reports."The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia," US Attorney Todd Jones said in a statement."These young men have been recruited to fight in a foreign war by individuals and groups using violence against government troops and civilians.
"Those tempted to fight on behalf of or provide support to any designated terrorist group should know they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."The first group of young men disappeared from the Minneapolis area in October 2007 and the most recent group left in October 2009, the statement said.They were recruited to join the Al-Qaeda inspired Islamist group Shebab and many ended up fighting Ethiopian forces, African Union troops and the internationally-supported Transitional Federal Government.They were trained in the use of small arms and military-style tactics by Somali, Arab and Western instructors and were also "indoctrinated with anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-Western beliefs," the Justice Department said.Some of the recruiters allegedly worked out of a Minneapolis mosque where they encouraged people to fight a "jihad" against Ethiopians, officials said.
One is accused of telling community members that he was raising money to send young to study the Koran in Saudi Arabia and then using the money to finance the trips to Somalia.
The counts unsealed Monday bring to 14 the number of people charged in the case. Charges range from lying to investigators to providing material support to terrorism and conspiring to kill, maim or injure people outside the United States.Seven of those charged Monday are not in custody and are believed to be outside of the United States. The eighth, who is accused of providing money to transport the youth to Somalia and buy them AK-47s, currently is being held in the Netherlands.Four Minneapolis residents have pleaded guilty in the case and two others have been released pending trial, officials said.US officials expressed gratitude to the Somali-American community for helping with the investigation."I emphasize the sole focus of our efforts in this matter has been the criminal conduct of a small number of mainly Somali-American individuals and not the broader Somali-American community itself, which has consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity in support of al-Shebab," said Ralph Boelter, who heads the Minneapolis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ic0yJGrjUbc7IRhbxcdau4tj90Bg
Charges unsealed in missing Somalis terror probe‎

Yemen Says Arrests More Houthi-linked Africans

Yemen said on Monday it has arrested more Africans on having links to the Houthi rebels who have been fighting the army in the far north since 2004, Saba reported on Monday.
This time some 30 Somalis have been seized in Bok'a district, Saada, who were said to have played a role in the war between the army and the rebels in Saada and the district of Harf Sufyan in neighboring province of Amran.
The Somalis have fought the troops in support of the Houthis, the authorities said.
In the last few weeks, tens of Africans including 26 Somalis were arrested in Saada and sent to the State Jail in Sana'a ahead of standing trial on Houthi support charges.
The arrests took place in several Saada areas while the Africans were involved in the insurgency and subversion and came as the army continues to cleanse the north of the insurgency.
There were also reports revealing that the Houthis were recruiting Somalis in Lahj and sending them to Saada.
The move came after locals rejected to support the rebels and fight the troopshttp://www.yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=1616
H/T From Jane Novak website: http://armiesofliberation.com/ thanks
Jane

Pirates hijack Greek-owned bulk carrier off Yemen, Somali pirates holding 12-year-old hostage: Spanish skipper‎

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Pirates hijacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier on Thursday in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday, but Greek officials said the attack may have been unsuccessful.The vessel was taken 36 nautical miles off the Yemeni port of Balhaf and news of the seizure only emerged on Saturday, said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme."Red Sea Spirit was taken by gunmen off the Yemeni coast last Thursday. She is flying the Panama flag," Mwangura said. "She is a Greek-owned bulk carrier."However, a Greek merchant marine ministry spokesman said the managers of the ship, Sekur Holdings, did not confirm the incident. Sekur Holdings were not available for comment.Meanwhile, pirates said they may release the Chinese De Xin Hai next week.The Chinese bulk vessel was seized mid-October with 76,000 tonnes of coal and 25 Chinese crew. It is owned by the Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co."Negotiations between us and the owners to free the Chinese ship are going on now," a pirate named Mohamed told Reuters from the pirate stronghold of Haradheere. "We agreed on $3.5 million to free the ship."Somali pirates have continued to defy foreign navies patrolling the waters off the Horn of Africa and are holding at least 13 vessels and more than 200 crew.There was a pause in hijackings during monsoon rains, but the sea gangs have stepped up attacks in the past two months, extending their range to as far as the Seychelles, to evade the naval vessels.Piracy attacks around the world numbered 324 during the year to October 20, according to figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.Attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia, numbered 174, with 35 vessels hijacked and 587 crew taken hostage.
Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal.
(Reporting by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura in Nairobi, Mohamed Ahmed in Haradheere and Renee Maltezou in Athens)
Somali pirates holding 12-year-old hostage: Spanish skipper‎

AU troops establish new base in Mogadishu

The African Union troops in Somalia has on made established a new base at the former Digfer hospital which once used to be largest hospital in Somali. The troops have taken position after a company of the Somali national police were overnight evacuated from that very base which the AU troops have stationed themselves on Sunday. There were no clashes between the armed rival Islamists and the AU troops during the shifting process,though some eyewitness who spoke to Somaliweyn radio verified that the AU troops were in full alert. So far the Somali government officials have not given out any comment regarding about the new move of the AU troops to a new base, and their silence is a prove that they are contended with this new move.The African Union troops have specific positions in the capital Mogadishu such as the airport, the seaport, the presidential palace and the famous Km4 intersection in the heart of the city. There are over 4,500 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi in the Somali capitalMogadishu and since their arrival they have met with several attacks including suicide attack in which the latest has claimed the lives of more than 20 soldiers including the deputy commander of the African Union troops.

What Are All The Commandoes For?

November 22, 2009: Al Shabaab continues to impose Sharia (Islamic law ) in those parts of the south it controls. Al Shabaab has formed a lifestyle police, which uses volunteers to go about punishing people on the spot for minor infractions (not praying, wearing the wrong clothes, listening to music or watching videos), and seizing others for more serious ones (fornication, adultery, theft, murder). Recently an unmarried woman was stoned to death for having sex with a married man (who received a hundred lashes). While al Shabaab is considered the major power in the south, they have lots of rivals. Al Shabaab "control" of southern Somalia is actually an ever changing patchwork. For example, a former ally, the smaller Hizbul Islam, is now openly at war with al Shabaab. And Hizbul Islam has allies, including Somali rebels across the border in the Ethiopian Ogaden province. There are also several powerful warlords, and religious groups (especially the Sufi militias) that are at war with al Shabaab. The smaller rebel groups seem to resent and resist al Shabaab trying to establish itself as the supreme leader of a religious dictatorship in Somalia. There is also disagreement over the hard line al Shabaab has taken on foreign aid groups. Al Shabaab has been expelling foreign aid groups it believes are "un Islamic" (and uses a flexible definition that can basically fits anyone that al Shabaab doesn't like). As a result, less aid is getting to people who need it most. Al Shabaab doesn't care, other Islamic radical groups care a little more. All this, of course, is the core problem in Somalia; there is very little enthusiasm for compromise and cooperation. The result is constant chaos.
The latest international corruption survey determined that Somalia was the most corrupt nation in Africa, and one of the most corrupt on the planet. It wasn't much better even when Somalia had a government. A growing number of UN members, and officials, are calling for an invasion of Somalia, as the only way to deal with piracy off the coast, and anarchy and violence ashore. The warlords, especially the Islamic radical ones, are making it more and more difficult to serve the growing number of sick and starving Somalis. The warlords consider the foreign aid something they can "tax" as much as they can get away with. This makes it much more expensive to feed the starving Somalis (both victims of a long running drought, and refugees from the fighting). As a result of all the losses to the warlords, many nations now refuse to contribute to the Somali aid effort (since so much of it just gets taken). The U.S. is now the major contributor of aid. Despite all these problems, none of the nations with armed forces capable of going ashore and pacifying Somalia (mostly Western ones), are not volunteering for the job.
Ukraine announced that it was sending 30 of its commando troops to join an EU (European Union) special operations force based in Djibouti. Most nations sending their elite troops to join this force, try and keep news of it out of the media. But in Ukraine, the media picked up on this, and made a big deal out of it.The Somali pirates are now holding a dozen ships and 250 crew..To read the rest of the piece http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/somalia/articles/20091122.aspx

Terrorist Infighting reports...Somali militants al-Shabab 'seize southern town' Rival Somali militia fighting kills 14: witnesses‎

The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab says it has taken control of the southern town of Afmadow without any resistance from rival militants.

The town, in Lower Juba region, had been controlled by rival group Hisbul-Islam, but its members are reported to have withdrawn without a fight. The two militant groups have been fighting each other for months for control of this region. Al-Shabab wants a strict version of Sharia law imposed around the country. The situation in the southern town is reported to be tense. Witnesses told the BBC they had seen heavily armed al-Shabab fighters patrolling the town centre in trucks. They say a large number of people have fled their homes in fear of violence. Reports say a non-governmental organisation has shut its offices and stopped all essential work in the area. Some of its staff have left the town. Al-Shabab issued a statement saying it had taken the town from Hisbul-Islam without a fight.
On Saturday, at least eight people died and many more were injured after clashes between Hisbul-Islam and al-Shabab on the outskirts of the town. http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7842825920252114461

Islamists seize southern Somali town, 12 killed

Rival Somali militia fighting kills 14: witnesses‎

Influential militant imam has Western flavor

CAIRO, Egypt The Yemeni-American imam who’s been under renewed scrutiny after the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, preaches against alcohol, birthday parties, black magic and extramarital sex.
But he supports armed struggle against the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has encouraged extremist insurgents in Pakistan and Somalia.
None of that sets Anwar al-Awlaki, 38, apart from other militant Sunni Muslim clerics — and even many mainstream ones — in the Middle East. Al-Awlaki uses digital means to spread his views, however, through a blog, lectures on YouTube and Facebook pages with more than 1,000 fans.
American-born and popular with young Westernized Muslims, al-Awlaki preaches mainly in English and drops pop-culture references, invoking Michael Jackson in a sermon on death or the parable of a marijuana-smoking Muslim who turned his life around.
Al-Awlaki’s teachings, however, also reportedly have inspired suspects in a number of high-profile international cases: two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, alleged militants accused of planning to blow up targets in Toronto, several Somali-American youths who died while fighting in Mogadishu, and the Muslim Army major charged with killing 13 people in the Fort Hood rampage Nov. 5. Al-Awlaki was under FBI investigation after the Sept. 11 bombings, but concerns surrounding him today appear to be based, at least publicly, more on his incendiary sermons than on solid evidence establishing a link to militant groups. Despite several brushes with terrorism suspects — allegedly by phone, e-mail and in U.S. mosques — al-Awlaki has not been charged with a terrorism-related crime, and the only time he has apparently spent in jail was in Yemen in connection with a tribal dispute, according to news and court accounts.
Al-Awlaki’s militant message and wide audience made him a subject of interest for U.S. intelligence agencies nearly a decade before the Fort Hood shootings. Back then, al-Awlaki was not hard to find. He served as imam to 3,000 Muslims at a mosque in suburban Virginia, held an online chat on The Washington Post’s Web site in which he answered questions about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and granted several news interviews. ..http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/1585317.html

Djibouti: U.S. outpost in fighting terrorism.. Vedio

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti -- To understand the difficulties America faces in combating terrorism, look no farther than this Horn of Africa nation.One of America's many outposts in that war is here, part of the Pentagon's new African Command. A small, joint operation of all U.S. military branches, it focuses on helping impoverished Djiboutians before they fall into the anarchy of neighboring Somalia.The obstacles include tribal and great-power rivalries, grinding poverty, no solid economic or political foundations on which to build -- and next-door Islamist extremists who want this as another base for themselves.Djibouti itself reflects a colonial past that began when it was French Somaliland in the 1800s and ended -- but didn't disappear -- in 1977.In the 110-degree heat of an afternoon, women in flowing dresses and vibrant-color scarves sit at wooden stalls selling qat, the leafy stimulant flown in daily from Ethiopia.
Somali immigrants, chewing their daily dose of that narcotic, slouch on the steps of the whitewashed Grand Mosque.Most buildings here cling to their Moorish-style charm, despite crumbling facades and trash-strewn streets.A wall poster celebrates President Ismail Omar Guelleh's 10-year rule. (He won re-election in 2008 with 100 percent of the vote, thanks in part to an opposition boycott.) The gray-bearded leader is pictured on a white-sand beach, waving and proclaiming, in French, "En Toute Confiance" -- "With Complete Confidence." On a map, Djibouti is but a speck where the Red Sea empties into the Gulf of Aden. In life, it isslightly smaller than Massachusetts.Just 0.04 percent of its land is arable, and its best exports are animal skins. So its half-million people depend on imports.Its only assets are its location and port, both of which have long interested foreign armies and spies.They're still interested -- and they include Americans, Islamists and the Chinese.
'A lot of activity'
About 1,500 U.S. sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines and Special Forces have deployed at Camp Lemonier, a naval expeditionary base outside the capital, since 2003.
The base's black weather flag -- for dangerous heat conditions -- flies almost daily.
A small Japanese naval force shares the base, part of an international flotilla battling Somali pirates.The French remain here, too, on a much larger base that includes a half-brigade of Legionnaires who once kept cheetahs and hyenas as mascots.Djibouti "wouldn't be as economically viable as it is without the huge French base and the smaller American base," says Robert Rotberg, a Harvard University political science professor and an expert on regional terrorism."There is also French intelligence (and) all sorts of diplomatic missions. ... I think both the U.S. and the French have (intelligence) 'listening posts,' so there is a lot of activity."It fosters a mixture of old and new, exotic and absurd, the dull and the dangerous. At night, sailors and soldiers of various nationalities fill restaurants and bars of the European quarter for surprisingly good French food and wine.Djiboutian women sweep the quarter's dusty streets. One wears a black-and-white leopard-print face veil with her neon-orange safety vest. Djiboutian men beckon foreigners into nightclubs such as the Hermes, where Ethiopian and Somali "hostesses" await. A Navy shore patrol ensures the Americans don't exceed their three-drink limit and do return to the base by midnight.Inside sweltering hotels, Chinese businessmen loudly strike land deals with Djiboutians. China's presence is growing; it built schools in several villages. Yet U.S. officials insist they're not alarmed."I don't see any inherent conflict in that the Chinese are here and that the Americans are here," says Rear Adm. Anthony Kurta, the U.S. base commander. "A lot of nations are here pursuing their interests and trying to help the Africans pursue theirs."Soft power, hard livesFor U.S. forces, helping means using "soft power" -- doctors, construction crews, other civil-affairs teams -- to combat extremism and terrorism. And much certainly needs to be done.Djibouti ranks low on the United Nations Human Development Index. Life expectancy is age 54; more than 40 percent of its people are younger than 15, and 29 percent of children are underweight.In a government clinic in the capital's Arhiba shantytown, Dr. Mohammed Aden says malnutrition, anemia and tuberculosis are common; increasingly, so is AIDS, its spread blamed on Ethiopian truck drivers. U.N. rations -- beans, oil, sugar, peanuts -- are given to the neediest. But the clinic's security wall "is not high enough," Aden says, "and people come over it and steal."Outside, children play on dirt streets amid garbage and grazing goats. Many makeshift homes are simply tarp-covered mud walls.A woman who gives her name as Fatimah is one of the more fortunate: Her three-room hut has a concrete floor. "I have 10 children," she says, cradling a baby; two other adults and two more children share the space where rolled-up mattresses lean against a wall. Her biggest concern is "joblessness. The only one who works is my husband," as a trash collector on the U.S. base. "The government doesn't provide jobs for us."Hassan Haissama, a day-laborer, agrees: The government "doesn't care about this neighborhood. In 10 to 12 families, one person will work. This place has become a ghetto."Still, Abdallah Kamil, Djibouti's prime minister in the 1970s, believes "the American presence is good for us," bringing stability and investment by Arab gulf countries.Sitting in his downtown office, he just hopes more U.S. investment will follow. Waiting for 'something good' Djibouti's populace is 60 percent Issa, a Somali clan, and 35 percent Afar. The rest are Arab, Ethiopian or European.The Issa-dominated government grates the Afar opposition; despite a reconciliation of sorts after a 2001 civil war, it boycotted last year's election.In a nearly empty one-room shanty, Dhoore sits on mattresses to talk politics while chewing qat. The Afar man won't give his real name, fearing retaliation."The change we would like to see in our country is that everyone must have the opportunity to rule ... to have freedom of expression and freedom to create associations," he says; America helps economically but should push democracy, talk with the opposition."The American base in Djibouti is here to fight against terrorism," he says. "To fight terrorism in this region, the government cannot do (anything) without the opposition."Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley insists U.S. Embassy staff meet regularly with Djibouti's opposition but says the election boycott was unhelpful.He denies that "we'll turn a blind eye because we think that one-party rule is the best way to fight terrorists. Actually, quite the opposite -- al-Qaida believes in one-party rule."Certainly, we will continue to encourage Djibouti to open up its political system and to strengthen its civil society, the rule of law and stable political processes."And despite what he sees as rampant corruption and political oppression, a disgruntled Dhoore indeed is happy that America is in Djibouti."We feel," he says, "that in the 10 years coming, something good will happen if the Americans stay here." source http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/nation-world/s_654457.html

Habar-gidir Hawiye Jehadist barbaric pirates,

Very sad, and sickening,, inhuman,The people that do this kind of

WATCH
http://bit.ly/074lzri

hawiye Proof again that you are sub human

Here's some background info
Heavy clashes flares up in Habar-gidir Hawiye pirate stronghold Town
Rival Somali groups fight over British couplem,US Navy: American cargo ship evades pirate attack,7mio or 7 comrades, Somali pirates demand‎ -
Somali pirates allow kidnapped couple to phone home
hawiye criminals is a Somali clan whose members live in central and southern Somalia,In 1991, Hawiye forces loyal to General Mohamed Farah Aideed ousted Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre Hawiye are everywhere in the world claiming refugee status ..
deported all back HUTU HAWIYE wild animals , most backward, ignorant bastards , Deport Them Back from western countries now.. Just having large amounts of hawiye animals in the west shows the stupidity of immigration laws. Deport the bastards back to their shit hole.. .send them something shiny to play with. This retard hawiye monkey ,The only injustice i know about is how the immigration rules allow degenate hawiye monkeys in the west . This animals are 500 years behind human beings ,we needs stopped welfare check s... Fucking parasite. they're very happy killing each other in Somalia in the last 18 years . that is way Millions of us left Somalia .They give somali a Bad Name,Stop These Inhuman Criminals. .. the hawiye are a shame to somalia...those animals caused much of somalia's instability
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY has to take a stand against Habar Gidir Hawiye Terrorist Animals ,"Why are they getting away with this?habar gidir Hawiye from dragged an American soldier's body through the streets. ..... Specialist JASON MOORE,..to . Aussie Nigel Brennan and Canadian Amanda Lindhout ,...to this retired British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler.Kidnapped British couple and thousand and thousands of daarood they slaughtered
Murderous Barbarian Hawiye Terrorest Rape, and Impregnate Canadian captive Journalist Amanda Lindhout Deliver a Baby boy, shabaab Name The Boy Osama
It's Veteran's Day,I am going to work as a volunteer Local VA Hospital..Thank them for their service and sacrifice What Are you planning today?
Habar-gidir hawiye Terrorist Aweys Says 'Our Policy is to Continue the Fighting Until We Find Islamic Government'? Another Word A Jihadist government
The mythology of habar -gidir Hawiye Terrorist abdi qasim salad hassan and hassan Dahir Aweys Of hidden Shari-a law courts
habar-gidir .. hawiye al-shabaab wing warns government against deploying troops in certain areas
habar-gidir hawiye when are they going to Free Amanda Lindhout??What's the talaban hawiye President is doing about it ,..her Release ??
Somali hard-line Islamists Terrorist are former Hawiye warlords-analysis
Hawiye Warlordism becomes Hawiye Sheikhism aka hawiye terrorism

Somalia to join global treaty, says Unicef

Somalia has announced it plans to ratify a global treaty aimed at protecting children, leaving the US as the only country outside the pact, Unicef said yesterday.Somalia and the US have long been the last hold-outs to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.The most widely ratified international human rights treaty, it declares that those under 18 years old must be protected from violence, exploitation, discrimination and neglect.“Adherence to and application of the Convention will be of crucial importance for the children of Somalia, who are gravely affected by the ongoing conflict, recurrent natural disasters and chronic poverty,” the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) said in a statement.In 2002, Somalia’s previous transitional government signed the Convention, which the US also signed under president Bill Clinton in 1995, but neither has ratified it.Unicef said Somalia’s transitional government had told it the “Somali cabinet of ministers has agreed in principle to ratify the Convention on the rights of the Child”.

Somalia to join child rights pact, only U.S. outside

GENEVA (Reuters) – Somalia has announced it plans to ratify a global treaty aimed at protecting children, leaving the United States as the only country outside the pact, UNICEF said Friday.Somalia and the United States have long been the last hold-outs to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly exactly 20 years ago.
The most widely ratified international human rights treaty, it declares that those under 18 years old must be protected from violence, exploitation, discrimination and neglect."Adherence to and application of the Convention will be of crucial importance for the children of Somalia, who are gravely affected by the ongoing conflict, recurrent natural disasters and chronic poverty," the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement welcoming the move.In 2002, Somalia's previous transitional government signed the Convention, which the United States also signed under President Bill Clinton in 1995, but neither has ratified it.UNICEF said Somalia's transitional government had told it the "Somali cabinet of ministers has agreed in principle to ratify the Convention on the rights of the Child."UNICEF director Ann Veneman, who was agriculture secretary under U.S. President George W. Bush, told reporters Thursday that it was "frustrating" that Washington had not adopted the pact. But she said there were some "technical" reasons behind the U.S. decision to remain outside it.Among these is Washington's policy of considering one human rights treaty at a time.UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday: "The United States has indicated that a very important review process is going on at the moment in order to arrive as quickly as possible at a ratification."Mark Kornblau, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York, said Thursday the administration of President Barack Obama was "committed to undertaking a thorough and thoughtful review of the Convention of the Rights of the Child."
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Somali government police captured fake US Dollar in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (TF.SF) – the transitional Federal Government has displayed fake US Dollar which was secretly deporting from the international airport of Aden Adde in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials told Shabelle radio on Saturday. The officials of the transitional government held press conference in Mogadishu airport and officially exhibited $1 million false Dollar which they said that they had captured in the airport as it was supposed to be smuggled to the side of the break away republic of Somaliland in north of the country. Eng. Abdirahman Omar Osman known as ( Yarisow), the currency minister of the transitional government was among those who talked to the journalists and said that the fake currency was going to Hargeisa city, the central of Somaliland administration adding that it was aimed to create problems there in the north of the country.
“The police forces and customers of the TFG in the airport caught the money on Thursday as it was on a plane traveling to Hargeisa city,” said Eng. Yarisow. Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise, the spokesman of the police forces of the transitional government was also present in the airport today and said that the forces had achieved to capture the medicine of the money in the airport earlier. It is the first time that the Transitional Federal Government performs such fake money in Mogadishu and shows to the journalist in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Dahabshiil company money transfer .Financial Transfers in Horn of Africa, head office Located in Hargeisa, Somaliland region of Somalia has been accused blackmailing and circlation of Counterfeit Money thrue out the region,and setting up shops for Making fake money,The Leader of Terrorist Al-Shabab Abdi Godane also named Sheik Mokhtar Abu-Zubeyr aka Mukhtaar C/raxmaan was working for Ex-Barakat Telesom, Somaliland Later Godane escaped from Somaliland region follwing a row with some of his group over a large amount of money they roped from an Ethiopian businessman and then fled southern part of Somalia,nToady He is the Head somali Al-Shabaab - Terrorist Groups There's a big Connection Between... Jihadist and money transfer companies, look out for each other, money transfer company benefit from Ongoing civil war in Somalia and against any government last 18 years , direct beneficiary lawlessness and lack of central government in Somalia , just like Somali pirates ...Criminal intersperses ..Puntland pirates and Somaliland Hawala Dahabshiil company ,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6YxIyN-iKE&feature=player_embedded

Court order to halt fraud targeting SD investors.wahabi masjid investment scam case

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday it has obtained an emergency court order to halt an alleged securities fraud targeting investors in the Somali immigrant community in San Diego and elsewhere.The complaint names Mohamud A. Ahmed, 45, of Spring Valley, and his company, Shidaal Express, Inc., which operates in the San Diego area.The SEC alleges Ahmed formed Shidaal Express to provide check-cashing, money transfer, and other financial services for the Somali immigrant community, and a sign at one storefront location listed “InvestmentOpportunities” among services provided.Regulators contend Ahmed raised at least $3 million, including $200,000 from a San Diego mosque, by promising exorbitant guaranteed returns of 5 percent per month, or 60 percent annually.Such alleged scams are known as “affinity fraud” because they prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities.Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-11-21/local-county-news/court-order-to-halt-fraud-targeting-sd-investors#ixzz0XWNVBRTv

Young 'lured' to fight in Somalia, leader says

The President of Somalia yesterday condemned the "luring" of young Somali-Canadians to his country to fight in an Islamist insurgency that is attempting to topple his government. "We have heard that some young Somalis went missing in Canada and are presumed to be on their way to Somalia or are already here," President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said. "It is exploitation against these youngsters, against their parents and against the Somali people to smuggle the youngsters whose understanding of their religion and the country is limited and whose parents escaped with them from Somalia in the first place to give them a better life." His comments at a news conference in Mogadishu came as the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service are investigating six Somali-Canadians who have left Toronto in recent weeks without telling their friends or parents.Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2248850#ixzz0XWKxJsSz

Appeal for yacht couple’s release,

The family of a British couple kidnapped by pirates have made another appeal for their release after seeing footage of them surrounded by gunmen. In a video obtained by Channel 4 News, Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55 and from Kent, are seen surrounded by Somali gunmen. Mr Chandler pleads for their lives, saying they fear they may be killed within a week.
The pirates have demanded a ransom of $7m (£4.3m) in a phone call to the BBC.
This is nearly double the highest ever payout to Somali pirates. With a gun pointing at her head, Mrs Cahndler said: "Our captors are very impatient now that nobody has been in touch to enter into negotiations. Yacht pair plead for ransom talks "So we ask the government and the people of Britain and our family, to do whatever they can to enter into negotiations with these people to buy back our lives BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner said the family were believed to be bearing up well. "Although it came as a relief to see their loved ones alive and unharmed, it was distressing to see them surrounded by Somali gunmen," he said. And a statement released by the family said: "We miss them deeply and urge their release." After the footage was aired, the Foreign Office issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victims’ families, but reiterating its position. A spokesman said: "The UK government position is clear: we do not make substantive concessions to hostage takers, including ransoms." Instead they are using all their connections in east Africa to try to shift "perception away from cash machines" and to try to persuade the pirates to do the "humanitarian thing and let them go", said Mr Gardner. He added that although Somali pirates were very good at putting psychological pressure on, they had never killed anyone themselves. There are fears that the pirates could sell the couple on to Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group in Somalia, if their demands are not met. Mrs Chandler said: "We are told that there is a terrorist cell, or a fanatic cell, searching for us and we are also feeling very much under threat now that these people themselves won’t hesitate to take our lives."
The Chandlers, of Tunbridge Wells, were taken hostage on October 23 as they sailed their yacht in the Indian Ocean.

U.S. wants Somali terror suspect to remain jailed until sentencing

Federal prosecutors said Friday that a man who pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in the exodus of Somali men from this country back to their homeland should be kept imprisoned until he is sentenced.
The government also said in the motion that it had no idea when the man, Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, will be sentenced, but said it would be "as soon as possible but in a manner consistent with the needs of the investigation." In an earlier filing, prosecutors said Isse "has conducted multiple debriefings" with federal agents. Isse, 25, is from Seattle but has family in the Twin Cities. He is among six men named in federal charges stemming from an investigation into the return of 20 or more men to Somalia to fight for a group that the government says is linked to al-Qaida.
Isse's lawyer, Paul Engh, filed a motion this month complaining that there "is still no foreseeable end to this litigation" and that "it's time for bail." Isse has been in custody since he was indicted in February; he pleaded guilty in April to providing material support to terrorists.
But assistant U.S. attorneys Anders Folk and William Narus answer in their motion that there was no reason to let Isse out on bail. In a footnote, the prosecutors said they filed a secret letter to the judge in the case "setting forth additional argument." The prosecutors' motion came a day after a federal magistrate allowed another man charged with the same offense, Omer Abdi Mohamed, to remain ...more..http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_13837389?nclick_check=1

Analysis: Local grievances are being sucked into 'global jihad'

YOU may know al-Qaeda wants to kill you, but does al-Shabaab, the Islamic militia fighting the UN-backed government of Somalia, perceive the West as a direct enemy? And does the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement – fighting for the ethnic Uighur people in China – wish to see the destruction of the "Crusader states"?
I could add to the list the militant Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, or the Pattani United Liberation Organisation in southern Thailand – Islamic, yes, militant, yes – but do they want to see London, Washington or Glasgow airport in flames?I've only mentioned a random group of Islamic militant organisations, but, as we struggle to understand the motivations of our current most obvious enemy, Afghanistan's Taleban, and their ties with al-Qaeda and other militant groups across the border in Pakistan, it is important to illustrate how different Islamic movements perceive who exactly their enemy is.A recent paper by Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and expert on Islamic militancy, paints a fascinating picture of how possibly legitimate regional grievances being addressed by Islamic groups are increasingly getting bound up with al-Qaeda's ideology of "global jihad" – that is to say, how "a little local difficulty" becomes "the clash of civilisations".Take the Uighur people of China's vast Xinjiang region. They are ethnically Turkic and Muslims. This year has seen the outbreak of serious unrest in the area between themselves and ethnic Han migrants from central China, dealt with punitively by Beijing.The Uighur seem to have a legitimate grievance. They feel increased migration is making them outsiders in their own land; that their language and culture are being undermined. They evidently fear a future in which they are marginalised.The recent trouble in Xinjiang has no doubt attracted greater attention from al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Here, after all, are an oppressed Muslim people in need of help – and who better to help them than their brothers in faith?But of course, as al-Qaeda come in one door, any sympathy or assistance from the West will go out the other.No doubt there is currently a fierce debate among politically active Uighurs: whether to involve themselves in the wider "jihad" or keep their focus on China.Another good example is Hamas. While Israeli propaganda would happily lump them as "militants" in the al-Qaeda ideological mould, that is far from the truth.Hamas keeps the focus of its struggle firmly on Israel. Despite the fact that, like al-Qaeda, it is a Sunni Muslim organisation, those engaged in "global jihad" regard Hamas with as much hatred as they do Tel Aviv. Hamas, with its roots in the pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, refuses to tie itself up in a wider conflict. At the other end of the spectrum, Osama bin Laden avoided any "local" clash with Saudi authorities in al-Qaeda's early days for fear that such a "local" conflict would damage his global aspirations.In his paper, Hegghammer uses the terms "revolutionary" and "global jihadist" ideologies. He writes: "Revolutionary Islamism advocates military confrontation with Muslim regimes in order to topple them and capture the state. Global jihadism promotes military confrontation with the United States and her allies, to avenge and deter non-Muslim oppression of Muslims." He cites al-Shabaab in Somalia as being a good example of group with "hybrid" ideology. While the focus of its material struggle has so far been against the government in Mogadishu, it will attack UN forces and western civilians if it can. Its propaganda expresses admiration for al-Qaeda, hatred of the US and a view that it is involved in wider struggle.Importantly, Hegghammer sees this as weakness – an attempt to broaden its appeal to gain recruits in a competitive market.He also adds that the tendency to see enemies everywhere is a sign of "late-stage militancy".Mullah Omar, leader of the Taleban in Afghanistan, is aware of this ideological difference. A recent statement that the Taleban "posed no threat to its neighbours" was met with anger on al-Qaeda websites.At the moment, the two have an enemy in common – the West is directly keeping the government of Afghanistan in power.Whether Mullah Omar is interested in a "global jihad" is another question altogether.• The Ideological Hybridisation of Jihadi Groups by Thomas Hegghammer is published in Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, Hudson Institute.

Source: The Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/world/Analysis-Local-grievances-are-being.5845665.jp

Deadly journey: Minneapolis to Mogadishu

Minneapolis is very different from Mogadishu. Yet it is home to the largest group of Somali refugees in the country - more than 60,000 of them. It may seem like an odd place to settle if you are from the Horn of Africa.
In autumn, Minnesota is cold and grey; in winter it is almost too cold to venture out.But unlike Somalia, there is no civil war here, no children walking around with guns, no warlords and none of the grinding poverty.So it seemed like a safe place for Zeinab Bihi to raise her son, Burhan, or so she thought.On 4 November 2008, the 17-year-old went missing from their Minneapolis apartment. ..MORE..Deadly journey: Minneapolis to Mogadishu

Al-Qaeda Somalia Abroad: A Threat to Israel and the U.S.

Earlier this month al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s dangerous Somalian proxy, threatened to attack Israel. “The Jews started to destroy parts of the holy mosque of al-Aqsa and they routinely kill our Palestinian brothers, so we are committed to defend our Palestinian brothers,” an al-Shabaab commander named Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur declared in a firebrand sermon delivered from a small village in Somalia. A local radio station broadcast the sermon and then CNN picked up the story, focusing on the fact that the African-based terror organization was “far from its normal base” in threatening Israel. In fact, al-Shabaab is very much on the international threat radar these days. So much so that just last month the White House authorized a daring, dangerous, and successful attack against the al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda partnership in Somalia, killing an estimated nine operatives including Saleh Ali Nabhan, who was wanted by the FBI.The raid, called Operation Celestial Balance, remains officially unconfirmed by the White House. According to eyewitnesses, it took place on September 14 and involved two attack helicopters that were deployed from a nearby Navy ship. The raid echoed the “Black Hawk Down” incident of 1993, but with entirely different results. Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal reports:

A car transporting [Saleh Ali] Nabhan and five other foreign fighters was escorted by another car carrying three Shabaab escorts; the vehicles were hit as they stopped for breakfast as they traveled to Kismayo. According to one witness, upwards of six helicopters were involved in the raid. At least two AH-6 Little Bird special operations attack helicopters strafed the two-car convoy. Other helicopters dismounted Navy SEALs, who seized the body of Nabhan and another, and purportedly took two other wounded fighters captive. An unconfirmed report indicated that Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow, a senior Shabaab leader, was among those killed.On October 12, 2009, a jihadi website posted Nabhan’s biography, confirming his death and calling him a “martyred commander.”In life, Saleh Ali Nabhan’s terror goals were anything but local. He was originally placed on the FBI’s Seeking Information-War on Terrorism list for his role in the East Africa embassy bombings in 1998. In the years since, Nabhan is believed to have been involved in several international terror plots and attacks, including the 2002 Mombasa, Kenya, attacks, which specifically targeted Israeli interests there.Page 1 of 2 Next ->

Some Background..we broke the story Assesing Al-Shabaab's Latest Threat towards Israel

Al-Shabab Terrorist says they will attack Israel

Moment of madness: The Somali war on ringtones

Most foolishness is fairly straightforward – stupid people doing silly things for daft reasons. Occasionally, however, the observer of such phenomena is disconcerted by a kink in this dynamic: smart people doing something ridiculous, or certifiable dingbats doing something brilliant.An outstanding example of the latter appears to have occurred in perennially unhappy Somalia. The violently devout militia that trades as Somali Jehadest al-shabaab which is alleged, by the US, to be the local franchise of al-Qaeda – has banned musical ringtones in the portions of the country controlled by its guerrillas. “We do not tolerate anything that may corrupt the people,” declared spokesman Sheikh Hassan Yaqub.Al-Shabaab’s war on ringtones is, in and of itself, an excellent initiative – think how much more pleasant our public transport would become were such things illegal. Regrettably, however, al-Shabaab is not content to stop there. Films, football, dancing and, it seems, most other forms of fun come in for the same stern treatment...piece from FT http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/548fe3b6-d4ae-11de-a935-00144feabdc0.html
Al-Shabaab Terrorist Is Public Enemy Number One

Can Somali pirates be defeated? Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them‎.Pirates Widen Range, Straining Naval Patrols

Why have the world's most advanced navies failed to end piracy in the seas around Somalia?

The BBC's Middle East correspondent Paul Wood reports from the EU anti-piracy taskforce flagship, Evertsen, in the Gulf of Aden.

Cdr Bindts say the pirates adapt quickly to his taskforce's tactics

The Dutch frigate Evertsen is a reassuring sight for the civilian ships dotted around the horizon as she ploughs steadily through the calm, glittering waters of the Gulf of Aden. But all the bristling firepower of the EU's anti-piracy task force has not been enough to remove the threat of piracy from the seas around Somalia. Why has it been so difficult for the world's most advanced navies to defeat pirates who are armed with just Kalashnikovs and rocket- propelled grenades?It is true there has not been a successful hijacking since July in the Gulf of Aden, the corridor between Yemen and Somalia which leads to the Suez Canal. That is of enormous importance, since 20% of the world's shipping travels this way.

'Tiny chance'

But the pirates have not been defeated. They have just moved south into the Indian Ocean, continuing to plague the waters known as the Somali Basin. This is where the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, were seized from their yacht.

The task force and other navies patrol an area the size of Western Europe

The first problem for the European force is one of simple geography.Along with other navies concerned about the piracy problem, it has to patrol an area the size of western Europe. They could be several days away from a vessel when it is boarded by pirates.So there is only a tiny chance of catching the pirates in the act of trying to board a civilian vessel - and even then, the warships are limited in what they can do. Often they cannot use the immense firepower at their disposal."This is not so much an enemy, that would sound like a war - and we're doing legal work with military means," says Cdr Pieter Bindt, commander of the EU's anti-piracy taskforce. "They [the pirates] are very adaptive; they react to what we do and they have a very large area where they can start from: the Somali coast, which is thousands of miles long."'Why not just blow them out of the water?' I asked......To read the rest of the piece..MORE news

Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them‎

Pirates Widen Range Off Somalia, Straining Naval Patrols

Somalia: Video Plea by British Couple Held by Pirates A retired British couple snatched from their yacht by Somali pirates said in a video broadcast Friday that they feared they could be killed within a week or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom demand was not paid

Sharif ‘I am sorry for the misunderstand between TFG, Puntland and Ahlu Sunna’

MOGADISHU (TF.SF) – the transitional federal government president Sharif Sheik Ahmed has held press conference in Mogadishu on Friday and said that he was very sorry for the misunderstanding between the TFG, Puntland and Ahlu-Sunnah .President Sharif sheik Ahmed said in his conference which took place in the presidential palace ( Villa Somali) in the capital that it was some thing to be sorry for the new difference between the three sides the TFG, the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the Islamic clerics of Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a.He said that Ahlu-Sunnah Walja,a’a are Somali clerics saying they anyone against his government could have a name adding that he saw to call those guerrillas (Jabhad).Ahmed said that there was a high delegation led by Somali PM Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharma’arke who visited in Puntland recently and agreed more issues with officials of the administration indicating that the latest meeting between him and president Farole ended with out results.The president had also talked more on the security of the country saying that there were plans that the TFG continues and like to take over whole the Somali country pointing out that only few days remained for their operations.The statement of the transitional government president Sharif Sheik Ahmed comes as there had been new disputes between the TFG, Puntland and the Islamic clerics of Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a rose over the past few days listen audio

dhageyso

Is imam a terror recruiter or just an incendiary preacher?

I Think Both!It Don't Make Any Difference ,He Is...terrorists or jihadists Pure and Simple, Whatever you want to call it,

CAIRO, Egypt — The Yemeni-American imam who's been under renewed scrutiny after the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, preaches against alcohol, birthday parties, black magic and extramarital sex. He also supports armed struggle — jihad — against the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has encouraged extremist insurgents in Pakistan and Somalia.None of that sets Anwar al Awlaki, 38, apart from other militant Sunni Muslim clerics — and even many mainstream ones — in the Middle East. Awlaki uses digital means to spread his views, however, through a blog, lectures on YouTube and Facebook pages with more than 1,000 fans.American-born and popular with young Westernized Muslims, Awlaki preaches mainly in English and drops pop-culture references, invoking Michael Jackson in a sermon on death or the parable of a marijuana-smoking Muslim who turned his life around.Awlaki's teachings, however, also reportedly have inspired suspects in a number of high-profile international cases: two of the 9/11 hijackers, alleged militants accused of planning to blow up targets in Toronto, several Somali-American youths who died while fighting in Mogadishu and, most recently, the Muslim Army major who's charged with killing 13 people in the Fort Hood rampage Nov. 5.In the past year, U.S. investigators say, Awlaki corresponded several times with Maj. Nidal Hasan. The investigators deemed the exchanges benign, consistent with research Hasan was conducting on Muslims in the military. Awlaki himself, purportedly speaking through an intermediary to The Washington Post, said this week that he'd answered only a couple of the dozen or so e-mails Hassan sent him.Awlaki was under FBI investigation after the 9/11 bombings, but concerns surrounding him today appear to be based, at least publicly, more on his incendiary sermons than on solid evidence establishing a link to militant groups. Despite several brushes with terrorism suspects — allegedly by phone, e-mail and in U.S. mosques — Awlaki hasn't been charged with a terrorism-related crime and the only time he's apparently spent in jail was in Yemen in connection with a tribal dispute, according to news and court accounts.Middle Eastern analysts cautioned against treating Awlaki as a senior terrorism suspect when so little is known about his links to violent extremist groups. Targeting him also could backfire and increase his popularity among young Muslims worldwide, the analysts warned. Fans already have set up Web pages supporting him, with comments sections full of anti-American rhetoric."The American position is flexible and changes a lot. During most of his life, Yasser Arafat was considered a terrorist, but then he received the Nobel Peace Prize," said Fahmi Howeidy, a prominent Egyptian Islamist writer with a column in a Cairo newspaper. "It's the same with that guy, Awlaki; they've created a demon out of him."An independent Yemeni political analyst, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the suspicions about Awlaki came from his hard-line beliefs, which were no different from those of other imams in the Middle East, where "praising jihad is prevalent in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and many Arab nations." Coverage in the Western news media is "exaggerating and magnifying" the threat that Awlaki poses, he said."This imam is a product of the Salafist Wahhabi" — or ultraconservative — "thought that managed to drive scores of youths to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in the '70s, and which is still nestled in many parts of the Middle East," the analyst said. "The difference here is that he gave these sermons in the U.S., where it's unheard-of, while in the Arab world it's the norm."Awlaki's militant message and wide audience made him a subject of interest for U.S. intelligence agencies nearly a decade before the Fort Hood shootings.Back then, Awlaki wasn't hard to find. He served as imam to 3,000 Muslims at a mosque in suburban Virginia, held an online chat on The Washington Post's Web site in which he answered questions about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and granted several news interviews. In a report just after 9/11, The New York Times held up Awlaki as an example of a "new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West."The FBI, however, was investigating Awlaki's activities and connections. The cleric moved to Yemen in 2002, presumably to be out of reach of U.S. authorities..To read the rest of the piece...more..http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/79261.html

200 Web sites spread al-Qaida's message in English

Abdulmanam Almushawah, the head of a Saudi government program called Assakeena,

RIYADH,Saudi Arabia (AP) - Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West.They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings.

The U.S.-born al-Awlaki has been an inspiration to several militants arrested in the United States and Canada in recent years, with his Web-based sermons often turning up on their computers."The point is you don't have to be an official part of al-Qaida to spread hatred and sectarian views," said Evan Kohlmann, a seniorinvestigator for the New York-based NEFA Foundation, which researches Islamic militants."If you look at the most influential documents in terms of homegrown terrorism cases, it's not training manuals on building bombs," Kohlmann said. "The most influential documents are the ones that are written by theological advisers, some of whom are not even official al-Qaida members."Most of the radical Islamic sites are not run or directed by al-Qaida, but they provide a powerful tool for recruiting sympathizers to its cause of jihad, or holy war, against the United States, experts who track the activity said.The number of English-language sites sympathetic to al-Qaida has risen from about 30 seven years ago to more than 200 recently, said Abdulmanam Almushawah, head of a Saudi government program called Assakeena, which works to combat militant Islamic Web sites.In contrast, Arabic-language radical sites have dropped to around 50, down from 1,000 seven years ago, because of efforts by governments around the world to shut them down, he said.Al-Qaida has long tried to reach a Western audience. Videotaped messages from its leader, Osama bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri usually have English subtitles. But translations of writings and sermons that form the theological grounding for al-Qaida's ideology, along with preachers like al-Awlaki, mostly eliminate the language barrier.Al-Awlaki's sermons have turned up on the computers of nearly every homegrown terror suspect arrested in the United States, Kohlmann said...To read the rest of the piece....more..http://www.komonews.com/news/national/70576967.html

Nicolas Cage Visits Kenyan Jail to Talk to Pirates

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) -- Film star Nicolas Cage has visited a Kenyan prison holding suspected Somali pirates awaiting trial to highlight the problem of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Inmates danced for the movie star and shook his hand as he toured the Shimo La Tewa prison in the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa. The prison has become a model for other jails in the country because of the reform work of its chief warden, Wanini Kireri.Cage, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador on Drugs and Crime, told The Associated Press Television News on Tuesday that he wanted to meet with some of the suspected Somali pirates, hear their stories and understand what is fueling piracy off the Somali coast.''Then I'm in a position where I can actually make some sense and talk about it when I go back to the States where I go talk to different U.N. councils and discuss the matter,'' Cage said.Cage also gave out awards during his Tuesday visit to wardens in recognition of their outstanding work. He left Kenya Wednesday.Somali pirates are currently holding around a dozen ships and more than 200 crew, and attacks have increased in recent weeks as seasonal rains subsided.On Wednesday, pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months, though private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship repelled the attack with gunfire and a high-decibel noise device.An international flotilla of warships now patrols the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, but pirates continue to carry out attacks because of the millions of dollars that can be made from a successful hijacking. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/18/arts/AP-AF-People-Nicolas-Cage.html

Are the Terrorists Homeward Bound?

Saberi Roy - 11/20/2009

Osama Bin Laden’s terror group Al-Qaeda and several other Al-Qaeda clones seemed to have changed their strategy. It’s not too clear whether Osama is still alive and whether Al-Qaeda is still continuing with its agenda of bombing people, although terrorism in its various forms and with the Al-Qaeda stamp are still seen and mainly in Asia and Africa. Osama is most probably too ill and his days of glory and prime are all over. His claim to fame has been the September 11, 2001 attacks where Al Qaeda members killed more than 3000 Americans. But that’s just it. Osama hasn’t done anything remotely associated with greatness although he has been fired by a mission and megalomania all rolled into one and presumably saw himself as some sort of Anti-Christ, a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad or a savior of the Muslim world and the only person who could radicalize and present Islam in its modern form – terrorism.So, what really happened to Bin Laden? The terrorist attacks in the west have now been replaced with increased terrorist activity in the South Asian regions. The terrorist camps that Al Qaeda and other terror groups established in the Afghanistan-Pakistan borders in the 1990s may have dwindled in number but the ex trainees of these and related camps are determined to put their years of training and enhanced knowledge into practice. With the lack of Osama and Al-Qaeda support and the big bucks, these trainee terrorists now have no where to go and are thus increasingly becoming self employed and setting up their own groups. In the heydays of the Al-Qaeda, the trainees could have hoped for easy and immediate recruitment within the Global Al Qaeda network. Once they were recruited their life (read death) had a certain degree of certainty. They were assured of foreign travel where they simply had to bomb people or share information with other recruits. Probably along with a global economic recession and several other factors including Bin Laden’s decreasing popularity in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and other nations, war on Terrorism, and a rapid decentralization, the Al Qaeda network has also felt the pinch. Moreover the terrorist sponsors are now no longer convinced of Bin Laden’s abilities and the Al Qaeda network has been facing increased competition from its rival terror groups to actually secure funding for terrorism. The result is decentralization and factionalized terror groups with even affiliates pursuing their own objectives. Al Qaeda networks have been getting support of the Taliban and are concentrated in Afghanistan and Pakistan but Al Qaeda remnants are still found in Somalia and Yemen and in Egypt and Iraq (led by al-Zawahiri and al-Masri).The trainee recruits or ‘students of terror’ have been setting up their own network trying to ape Al-Qaeda although now there are too many such groups so funding is no longer concentrated. This has resulted in a drastic cut of foreign travel for the terrorists and their agenda has changed to bombing in local regions. This means terrorist attacks have now increased drastically in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2009 alone, there were 20 terror attacks in Pakistan and there are many reports of terrorism in Afghanistan as well. In recent years terror attacks have also been very significant in India and in Egypt. India and Egypt are soft targets as costs of living in these regions are not too high and terrorists can easily live for months to plan their agenda inside the slums of Bombay or the souks of Cairo. In contrast sending recruits for foreign missions could be very expensive. Al Qaeda’s initial budget was over $30-$35 million per year, according to US sources. Initially Osama had recruits in Brooklyn (Ali Mohamed) and London (Omar Bakri, not a direct recruit but an associate). The strategy until now has been to recruit young students already residing in the US, UK or other European nations, inviting and training them in Pakistan camps and sending them back to their homeland to bomb their own people. This strategy has worked for the London bombings as the backpack bombers were trained in Pakistan although for the September 11 bombings Al Qaeda had more money from Saudi billionaires and a stronger network, the mission was unprecedented and Osama presumably received huge support and sponsorship for the alleged unique project, so could send his senior fellows for completion of the mission. US, UK or Europe are now tough targets because the costs of living in these countries are high and recruits can’t live for months to plan their attacks; funds and sponsorships are dwindling with Osama’s lost glory; there are increased security arrangements in these countries making it tough for terrorists to sail through, young Muslims are more aware and knowledgeable about Islam and no longer buying into the ‘bomb your own people’ agenda; the brainwashing is getting tougher in the West with governments systematically cracking down on religious hate preachers and finally now there are too many small terror groups with trainees keen to develop their own network during these uncertain times leading to decreased international presence and more local presence. With the decreased power of Al-Qaeda, other groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba are taking over. So now the terrorists have increased activity near the terror camps and in countries that have been knowingly or unknowingly breeding terrorists such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt. Now it’s a classic case of biting the hand that feeds and the ancient parable which says that if you breed a snake in your backyard you will finally die with its own venom. This may even be analyzed psychoanalytically that when our ambitions are frustrated externally we turn all the aggression inwards and suffer from depression or even practice self harm. This is happening with the terrorists, as with too many groups and lack of funds or centralized network, the aggression is manifesting in short term terror projects and sporadic bombing of local people. It’s like these groups are getting sponsorships for each separate bomb attack and there is no long term agenda or a definite reason as to why they are doing this. The bigger Saudi sponsors have now backed off from giving any substantial support and the terrorists have to do with largely local funds. Bin Laden started this whole agenda because he had this rather deluded mission of being a savior of Muslims and was motivated by the possibility of global Jihad. Now there is no mission, no agenda, no direction but simply an urge to put training into practice, and suicide bombers are regularly blowing themselves up without any formal reason. If you ask terrorists why they are doing what they are doing, they will be more confused than ever about their real mission or objective. Terrorism like every other Ism or ideology started with a centralized network and like any other movement reached its best days. Then the centralized network has now predictably dissociated and larger projects have given way to smaller goals of bombing people in local regions than in foreign cities and finally the last leg of terrorism which is yet to come would mean increased feuds among smaller terror groups and subsequent fall of the last important terror network.

Somalia, Afghanistan ranked most corrupt countries in annual survey

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/somalia-afghanistan-ranked-most-corrupt.php

Minneapolis man is sixth to be charged in Somali exodus,Minn. lawyer denied access to terror suspect |

An out-of-work employment counselor became the sixth man charged in the federal government's investigation into the exodus of Somali men to fight in their homeland.
Omer Abdi Mohamed, 24, of Minneapolis, was named in an indictment unsealed Thursday that accuses him of providing material support to terrorists as well as conspiracy to provide support and conspiracy to "kill, kidnap, maim and injure."
The indictment says he provided "financial support and personnel" but doesn't say how much money he allegedly contributed.
It does say that from Dec. 4 to Dec. 8, 2007, he and unnamed co-conspirators were somehow involved with five men who boarded flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with a final destination of Somalia.
Mohamed was arrested Thursday morning. At a hearing a few hours later, a federal prosecutor argued that he should be held without bail, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel ordered him released on an unsecured $25,000 bond.
Mohamed wasn't set free right away, though. Noel ordered that he wear an electronic home-monitoring device, but the court's pretrial services office didn't have one in stock and probably won't until today or later, said Mohamed's court-appointed attorney, Peter Wold.
At the hearing, Wold said Mohamed "relishes the opportunity in this country to be presumed innocent and defend himself against these charges."
"He's been here since he was a kid," Wold said after the hearing. "He's like your next-door ..more..http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_13828578

Minn. lawyer denied access to terror suspect

Al-Qaeda Somalia in US: Supporters Blamed For Ohio Arson

In the early morning of October 19, a fire ravaged through the property surrounding Masjid Salama, a growing Columbus, Ohio, mosque frequented primarily by members of the local Somali community. Several Somali-owned businesses surrounding the mosque were heavily damaged, but the mosque itself was not touched. However, because of the surrounding damage, the mosque itself has not been cleared for reopening.
As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, fire investigators immediately determined that arson was to blame for the blaze.
But rather than blaming the arson on unknown anti-Muslim individuals engaged in a religious hate crime, many inside the Columbus Somali community are fixing their suspicions on leaders of another local Somali mosque, Masjid Ibn Taymiya. This mosque is dominated by supporters of the al-Shabaab terrorist group, and members have made repeated attempts to take over the rapidly growing Salama congregation through an unsuccessful campaign of legal and physical intimidation.
Following the blaze, I met with two leaders of Masjid Salama, who described the ongoing efforts by the leaders of Ibn Taymiya to take over their burgeoning year-and-a-half-old congregation. On November 12, the Salama leaders had to obtain a temporary restraining order to prevent the bulldozing of their rented facility by a leader of the Ibn Taymiya mosque, Mohamed Hassan, who, they say, is the ringleader of the campaign.
“The first thing Hassan did was to obtain the lease rights to the property we rented, and then use his contacts in City Hall to try to illegally evict us,” one of the Salama leaders said. In fact, Hassan took the Salama mosque to court earlier this month, only two weeks after the arson at the mosque property, claiming that they had not paid rent — a claim that was soundly rejected by the judge when the Salama leaders provided canceled copies of the rent checks for the past year. Hassan had also rejected checks for the past three months rent.
But Hassan’s harassment campaign began earlier this year when he obtained trespassing orders from the Columbus prosecutor’s office. According to the Salama leaders, Hassan hoped to force them from the mosque property, change the locks overnight, and reopen the mosque the following day with a new imam appointed by Ibn Taymiya. That plan failed when it was pointed out that the mosque property wasn’t even in the Columbus prosecutor’s jurisdiction, making the orders invalid.
The Salama leaders said that Hassan then sent a team of “mediators,” who proposed that the entire Salama board resign, but the current imam would be retained and the “mediators” would appoint a new board. Needless to say, the Salama leaders rejected the proposal out of hand:
These people have nothing to do with our mosque. Who are they to demand mediation for anything? And all the proposals these mediators proposed would get rid of our board and finish the takeover of our mosque. This new board they would appoint would get rid of our imam as soon as they were in place. Why would we ever agree?
Not long after came the fire that has closed Salama ever since and the unsuccessful judicial hearing on the bogus claims that the mosque had not paid its rent.
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Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on executions by stoning in Somalia

The European Union condemns the recent executions by stoning in Al Shabab-controlled areas of Somalia, including of a woman accused of adultery, close to the town of Wajid, and of Abas Hussein Abdirahman, in the town of Merka.
The European Union recalls its opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and regrets the continued occurrence of executions in Somalia. Execution by stoning is a particularly cruel and inhuman form of punishment.
The European Union calls on all relevant parties to refrain from and abolish the practice of executions and to respect human rights and international humanitarian law at large. The European Union also calls on all relevant parties to ensure that the practice of execution by stoning is effectively and permanently terminated in the country, in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, both of which Somalia has acceded to.
The European Union calls on the relevant parties to prevent the execution of the woman who was condemned to death together with Abas Hussein Abdirahman.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process."

Al Qaeda-Linked al-Shabaab Terrorist Released a NEW video

The latest video from Somalia's al Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab Terrorist

watch

Update Feds indict Minn. Somali-American Jihadists Omer Abdi Mohamed on conspiracy charges

St. Paul, Minn. — A Minneapolis man has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, in connection with a sweeping federal investigation into the disappearances of 20 Somali men. Terrorist Omer Abdi Mohamed was indicted on Nov. 17 and appeared in U.S. District Court Thursday. The indictment alleges that the 24-year-old and others "knowingly committed and caused" the travel of six men from Minneapolis to Somalia.
Mohamed, also known as "Brother Omer" and "Galeyr" was also charged with conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign land. The indictment against Mohamed is one of the first major developments in the ongoing investigation. Authorities believe that over the past two years, the men traveled to their native Somalia to fight along with a violent Terrorist extremist group that the U.S. government declared a terrorist organization in February 2008. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury Tuesday, provides the names of six men who Mohamed and others allegedly sent to fight in Somalia. The list includes Terrorist Shirwa Ahmed, a Minneapolis man who authorities believe became the first American suicide bomber when he allegedly detonated himself last fall in Somalia. Mohamed, a permanent resident of the U.S., appeared in court Thursday with his wife and seven-week-old son. He told the court he was recently laid off from his job as an employment counselor for the state of Minnesota.
At Thursday's hearing, a judge said Mohamed can be released from jail, but will need to submit to electronic monitoring, surrender his passport, and agree to remain in the state.
Until now, the question of who, if anyone, was allegedly recruiting the young men to one of the most deadly places on earth remained unanswered by federal authorities. Some community members believed the young men resolved to fight in Somalia entirely on their own.
Today's news follows last week's arrest of Terrorist Mohamud Said Omar, 43, in the Netherlands. According to the Associated Press, Omar is accused of purchasing weapons for Islamic terrorists in Somalia and helping other Somalis travel to the war-torn country in 2007 and 2008. The U.S. Is seeking his extradition and confirmed his arrest was related to the investigation into the missing men. But his brother, Mohamed Osman of Rochester, said his brother was too poor to have bankrolled any kind of weapons purchases for al-Shabaab Terrorist , the terrorist group that the young Minnesota men allegedly joined.
So far, five additional cases have been made public. Three men with Minnesota ties have pleaded guilty to traveling to Somalia to fight, a fourth has pleaded guilty to perjury and a fifth has pleaded not guilty to lying to federal agents. SOURCE: minnesota.publicradio.org
Somali terrorist financier is identified,Sources in the Twin Cities and the Netherlands confirmed the identity of the man jailed overseas

Move at U.N. to sanction Eritrea over Somalia links

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A draft U.N. Security Council resolution calls for an arms embargo against Eritrea and travel bans and asset freezes for members of its government and military for aiding Islamist insurgents in Somalia.The resolution, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, was drafted by temporary Security Council member Uganda and has been circulated to other members of the 15-nation panel, U.N. diplomats said.The United States and other council members accuse Eritrea of supplying al Shabaab rebels with money and weapons as they fight to topple the fragile U.N.-backed transitional government of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the official leader of the virtually lawless Horn of Africa nation.The fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes.Among the measures called for in the draft is a ban on all sales to Asmara of "weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts."The draft also calls for a ban on providing Eritrea with "technical assistance, training, financial and other assistance, related to the military activities."The Security Council, African Union (AU) and United States have all warned Asmara against destabilizing Somalia. Eritrea denies supporting al Shabaab and has said that the threat of U.N. sanctions is of "no concern at all."A U.N. arms monitoring body -- which was set up to record violations of a 1992 arms embargo on Somalia -- has said Asmara was sending plane- and boatloads of munitions to Somali rebels, as well as providing them with logistical support.It was not clear when the council would vote on the resolution. Diplomats said it would need to be revised if it was to avoid a veto from China and Russia, which dislike sanctions in general.The resolution would authorize U.N. member states to inspect "all cargo to and from Somalia and Eritrea" via land and sea if there were grounds to suspect that the cargo included banned items.It would also impose a travel ban and freeze the assets of the "Eritrean political and military leadership" and other Eritrean individuals and firms suspected of supporting the hard-line Islamist rebels.Somalia has been mired in chaos for nearly two decades and there is little sign the latest attempt to establish central government is proving any more successful than the 14 previous efforts since a Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.
(Editing by David Storey)

http://alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19531413.htm

Some background

Britain calls for sanctions against Eritrea
INTERVIEW-Somalia says Eritrea deserves punishment for chaos

Analysis: Eritrea confounds US in Somalia, Eritrea warned on al-Shabaab links

I Asked you reasenly To Write your Congressman or Congresswoman : An issue concerning Global War on Terror ,I'd like to share with you

My Congressman Correspondent


Dear Mr. Warsame,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on terrorism.

I appreciate hearing your views on this matter and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has awakened to a new and unique threat to freedom. Instead of being challenged on the world stage by a large and established nation, we instead find ourselves taking notice of several small and loosely connected networks of individuals who perceive us as enemies because of our way of life. Our vulnerability to terrorists, and the reality that terrorism would have a major impact on U.S. foreign policy for the foreseeable future, culminated on the morning of September 11, 2001, when a coordinated attack by the al-Qaeda terrorist group killed thousands of innocent Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. While the casualties and structural damage took place in these states, the event left a lasting impact on all Americans and the rest of the world.
I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to prevent any future terrorist attack and to also bring those who seek to do us harm to justice. You may be interested to know that in the 110th Congress I twice voted for the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act, which was signed into law. This year, on October 15, 2009, the House of Representatives passed the conference report for the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) with my support by a vote of 307-114. This legislation authorizes a total of $42.6 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, including $950 million for grants to help train and equip local first responders to react to terrorist attacks and $300 million for critical port security resources to enhance risk management capabilities. The legislation also includes funds to strengthen our nation's border security efforts.
As a former law enforcement officer and current member of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, protecting America and keeping our communities safe has always been a top priority for me. We must ensure our local first responders and intelligence officials have the resources they need to protect our country, preserve our freedom, and keep our families safe.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to get in touch with me. Your interest and input are valued and I hope to hear from you in the future regarding other matters of importance. I encourage you to visit my website and sign up for my monthly e-newsletter at http://reichert.house.gov/ to learn more about other issues impacting the 8th Congressional District and our nation.

Sincerely,

David G. Reichert
Member of Congress

Concern Grows Over Recruitment of Somali Americans by Islamists

The suspected involvement of a young Seattle man in a suicide bombing last month has refocused attention on the recruitment of Somali Americans by Islamist extremists in Somalia and the growing role of al-Qaeda, U.S. counterterrorism officials said. The FBI is investigating whether the American took part in a Sept. 17 twin truck bombing in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, which killed 21 people at an African Union peacekeeping base, law enforcement officials said. If confirmed, he would be the second U.S. citizen in the past year to have become a suicide bomber and at least the seventh radicalized U.S. youth to die after joining al-Shabab, an insurgent group seeking to topple Somalia's weak government, U.S. relatives and Somali activists said. Overall, Shabab has sent dozens of Somali Americans and Muslim American converts through training conducted by elements of al-Qaeda's Pakistan-based terrorist network, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael E. Leiter said last week.
Although al-Qaeda itself is under more pressure than at any time since 2001, the threat from affiliated groups such as Shabab is growing, said Leiter and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. In particular, such groups are providing al-Qaeda a pipeline of American and European fighters whose passports would make it easier for them to travel undetected and potentially attack Western targets, current and former U.S. officials said. "The role of returning foreign fighters to the United States changes the nature of the threat to the homeland," Mueller said in written testimony last week to a Senate hearing into the evolving terrorist threat inside the United States. Leiter's statement singled out Shabab and Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group accused in the commando-style attack on Mumbai in November that killed more than 170 people. The latter "could pose a direct threat" inside the United States, particularly in collusion with al-Qaeda, although its focus has been on India and Afghanistan, Leiter said in written testimony. Although Shabab has not launched attacks outside Somalia, al-Qaeda operatives might "commission" a U.S. strike, American officials said. They note that people trained in Somalia have been traced to several international plots, including one that Australia's police in August said was aimed at an army base there. In the most striking recent revelation, U.S. officials confirmed that they think a key trainer of Somali American youths was Saleh Ali Nabhan, 30, a wanted Shabab leader and liaison to al-Qaeda in Pakistan who was killed in a U.S. commando-style helicopter raid Sept. 14. Nabhan was sought by the FBI in the bombing of an Israeli hotel in Kenya and the attempted downing of an Israeli airliner in 2002, as well as his role in the 1998 al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Shabab spokesmen said the A.U. bombing last month was in retaliation for Nabhan's killing. Shabab released a video Sept. 20 pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and featuring a new, young American spokesman, according to private firms that monitor Islamist Web sites. The 49-minute video, titled, "At Your Service, O Usama," contained footage of a Somali training camp and showcased Omar Hammami, 25, a former University of South Alabama student.
"Any connection you have between American recruits and al-Qaeda trainers -- real senior, accomplished people like Nabhan -- that raises a lot of concerns," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said last week. "It's hard to tell where Shabab ends and al-Qaeda in East Africa begins. That's how closely the two are linked," another U.S. counterterrorism official said, adding that both "are intent on stepping up their terrorist activity in East Africa. . . . It's critical that we and our allies keep a close eye on them."
CONTINUED 1 2 'Next

Some Background related stores

Somali terrorist financier is identified,Sources in the Twin Cities and the Netherlands confirmed the identity of the man jailed overseas

Militant extremism alert in Minnesota

Arrest in Netherlands may yield insight into Shabaab recruiting networks

St. Paul Meeting on Missing Somali Men,FEATURE: Minnesota Somalis face post-Sept. 11 fears as young men leave for jihad

Sources say local man supported al-Shabaab Terrorist

Alarming rise of home grown jihadis in the US

Somalia: “Al Qaeda Leader in East Africa is fighting in Somalia

The threat from Somalia,NEFA- Shabaab al-Mujahideen Declares Formation of Al-Quds Brigade

FBI Makes Another Terrorist Arrest In Missing Somalis Case.Somali-American Jihadists Abdow Abdow's 26-year-old medical technician from St. Paul MN

Somalia's Shebab 'radicalising Western youths'

Birthed in blood, Somali terror group goes global

Kenyan police arrest American jihadists heading for Somalia

FBI Director Robert Mueller visiting Seattle

AL-‘ITISAAM: A Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing

Concern Grows Over Recruitment of Somali Americans by Islamists

FBI Director: Al Qaeda-Linked Somali Group Could Attack U.S.

Local Somalis fear terror group has lured six missing men

Young Torontonians last heard from in Kenya, across border from al Shabaab's home base

As many as six young men from Toronto's Somali community have vanished in the past two weeks, sparking fears they have slipped off to the Horn of Africa to join the outlawed al Shabaab group.An officer from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service met Wednesday night with relatives of one of the missing men, trying to determine if the former York University student had entered Somalia from bordering Kenya.Later, after the CSIS agent left her Markham home, the man's cousin told the Star the 25-year-old left Canada on Oct. 10 with his aunt to visit an ailing grandmother in Nairobi. Then last Friday she got a call from her aunt (who had raised the cousins in Canada) saying he had disappeared."At this point we have no idea," she said. "There had been nothing in his behaviour that would have worried us."Community members and the RCMP have warned there's a risk of youths from Toronto's large Somali diaspora being lured to Mogadishu through al Shabaab's online recruiting of Westerners.In the United States, as many as 20 Americans have left the Minneapolis area to join al Shabaab, which both Canada and the U.S. have designated a terrorist group. One of them carried out a suicide bombing.
Administrators of Toronto's Abu Huraira Centre, a mosque near Highway 404 and Sheppard Ave. E. where the six reportedly worshipped on occasion, contacted authorities after learning from their families and others in the Somali community of their disappearance."We are concerned," said administrator Omar Kireh, adding he is cooperating fully with authorities and offering support to the parents, whom he described as "devastated.""What we know is that a (few) guys have gone missing from the Toronto area. Where are they? And where did they go? That will come later."Kireh would not say if he knew any of the men, fearing he might "jeopardize the investigation," and refused to speculate whether they had joined al Shabaab.
"People talk about that, but right now we don't know where they are. ... As far as we know, those guys are travelling like any other person."In an effort to stop young men from becoming radicalized, Kireh said the mosque works with parents and the community. But, he added, it's not always known what goes on in the minds of young men: "You can't watch their hearts."
Ahmed Gure, who runs the Somali news website Hiiraan Online, said the families learned the six had left Canada only after the fact."Otherwise they would not allow these kids to leave," said Gure. "We heard they made a phone call from Kenya to their families. They said they are in Kenya, they're good. We cannot confirm it, but we think they're probably going to Somalia."
Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, said he is still waiting to get all the facts about the situation, but fears the news could provoke a backlash against a community that's already vulnerable."We want to assure the rest of the Canadian society that the Somali community is a peaceful community," said Hussen, who travelled from Ottawa to Toronto to discuss the issue with local Somalis. "If it's proven that some young men have gone to fight in Somalia, then it's an issue of serious concern to us," he said.Both CSIS and the RCMP have been monitoring the Somali community since al Shabaab was created in 2006.Al Shabaab – translated as "The Youth" – was a violent offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, which took control of Mogadishu in 2006.While the ICU brought stability to the anarchic capital after 15 years of war there were fears about the group's strict adherence to Sharia law. Comparisons were made to the Taliban, prompting Ethiopia, with U.S. approval, to invade Somalia in December 2006.
That invasion?? please.. The Invention did not quash the movement; in fact, the unpopular presence of the Ethiopian troops only bolstered al Shabaab's ranks. Even with Ethiopians gone and a new government in place, al Shabaab has started attracting foreign recruits. Earlier this year, it pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, although evidence of direct ties between the organizations is questionable.In a recent interview with the Star, Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed conceded he was concerned about the recruiting of foreign fighters, but said he believes al Shabaab is no longer popular among war-weary Somalis.During a trip to Minneapolis, he offered condolences to the families of the American youths who had joined al Shabaab, saying they were "victims themselves while victimizing others."
With files from Paul Moloney
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/727904--local-somalis-fear-terror-group-has-lured-six-missing-men

Somali woman, 20, stoned to death by Islamic militants after admitting affair with boy friend

A Somali woman of 20 has been stoned to death after admitting she had an affair, an Islamic militant judge said today.The woman was a divorcee - but even though she was no longer married, her affair was seen as adultery in the eyes of Somalia's extremist interpretation of Sharia law.Her punishment was therefore to be buried up to her waist in front of a crowd of 200 people and stoned to death.

A woman is pictured being prepared for stoning (file photo posed by actors). The woman stoned to death in Somalia would have been buried in the same way
Her unmarried boyfriend was given 100 lashes for the affair. Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, the judge for the group al-Shabab, says the woman was killed yesterday in front of a crowd of some 200 people near the town of Wajid. Abdirahman says the 20-year-old woman had an affair with a 29-year-old unmarried man and gave birth to a stillborn child. The militants that control much of southern Somalia and have links to al Qaeda have implemented an extremist reading of Islam's Sharia law. The stoning death was at least the fourth for adultery in Somalia over the last year. It was the second time a female has been killed.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1228956/Somali-woman-20-stoned-death-Islamic-militants-admitting-affair-boyfriend.html#ixzz0XLkEhwN4

Somali security forces to train in Uganda

UGANDA is to host a programme in which 2,000 Somalia security personnel will be trained by European Union (EU) soldiers. A recent statement disclosed that the imparting of skills to the Somali military police will also benefit the Uganda Police force. The training follows a request by the interim Government in Mogadishu to help it build a 6,000-strong security force. Somalia has been gripped by civil wars and without a stable government since the overthrow of President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. The spokesperson for the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said EU’s decision, which is expected on Tuesday in Brussels, would launch the official planning for the mission. The decision will be made at a meeting of foreign, defence and development ministers from member countries. “We will be exploring how we can support the transitional government in addition to what we do with piracy on the high seas,” an official, Cristina Gallach, told reporters. Uganda is among the African countries that deployed soldiers in Somalia on a peacekeeping mission under the auspices of the African Union. According to the statement, Uganda will also host the training for about 400 personnel to be posted to the war-torn Afghanistan. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/701760

Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jama slams Somali Talaban Hawiye President’s remarks

Somali Talaban Hawiye president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, terming it as insult to the group. In an interview with BBC Somali Service, President Ahmed describe the group as any another armed militia fighting in his war-torn country. Somalia Sheikh Omar Sheikh Mohammed Farah, Ahlu-Sunnah’s chairman slammed the remarks as an insult to his group. “President Sheikh Sharif has openly ignored our existence, describing us as guerrillas just like Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam,” he said in a press conference. Sheikh Farah called on the president to apologize within 48-hours or else his group will take unspecified action against the Somali government. In the interview, President Sharif stated that there are on-going talks with pro-government group in joining his administration, a statement which the group’s leader rejected and termed it as lies. The group’s leader said they will formally lodged their complains and agreement with TFG to the parliament, urging parliamentarians to respond about the president’s remarks. It is the first time the group, which declared its support to the fragile UN-backed transition government, to strongly criticize the government.Omar Sh Mohamed Farah Listen Dhageyso he calll shareef a Wahbi President .. and – It's not that different from them ( Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam).. he is one of them..we are organizations that stand for religious freedom and justice, ..... Believe whatever you like..whatever religion you like. ..., we are fighting and laying down our lives for the future of our children. .and ..We Want our little girls go to school, We want You to decide how you want to live your life.. "Whatever You Want From Life"
related stores
Ahlu Sunna troops display military maneuver in parts of central Somalia. watch pictures
somali mourn death of spiritual leader

Heavy clashes flares up in Habar-gidir Hawiye pirate stronghold Town

HARAR DERE -somalia – heavy clash in Hardheere,between Habargedir subclan of the Hawiye clan. , stronghold of Somali pirates in the Mudug region,Reports say that the fighting started as the Hawiye pirates took ransom money from the Spanish officials belonging hijacked ship on Tuesday which caused both sides to fight each other shortly after they took the money as they released the Alakran ship with its 36 crew. $3.3M ransom paid, ‎ At least two Habar Gidir pirates were wounded during the clashes between both sides as some of the pirates refused to take some money which they were planned to be given as a ransom which lastly resulted in to exchange gunfire after refusing the amount of the money given.The latest reports from Harar-dere town say that the injured pirates were cured in a private hospital in the Mudug region.

Some background

Congressional report: 5 groups conduct most piracy

Maersk Alabama repels Somali pirates in second attack,Seized tanker's captain dies, Alabama attacked again

JOHANNESBURG - You know the Somali piracy season is in full swing when the same ship gets attacked twice in a single year.The US-flagged Maersk Alabama – most recently attacked by pirates seven months ago, and rescued by US Navy Seals – was attacked today by Somali pirates using automatic weapons 350 miles east of the Somali coast. Guards posted on board repelled the attack, and European Union naval patrols swung into action to locate the pirates.
A European Union Naval Force spokesman said that it was not unusual for ships to be attacked twice in the waters off the Somali coast, and credited the presence of armed guards for preventing the pirates from taking control of the ship. “At least this time they had a vessel protection detachment on board who were able to repel the attack,” Captain John Harbour told the Associated Press.Pirate attacks have been on the upswing for more than a month, now that the monsoon storm season in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea has ended. Just this week, pirates have attacked and boarded a North Korean-flagged freight ship, and pirates released a Spanish fishing trawler after payment of a reported $3.3 million.Piracy has been a major problem along the Somali coast for nearly 20 years, since the fall of that country’s last functioning government in 1991, and its descent into anarchy. But as ransoms became more profitable, pirates have gotten more sophisticated, using mother ships and GPS devices to venture as far as the Seychelles Islands to carry out their attacks.The Maersk Alabama is not the first commercial ship to use armed guards to repel pirate attacks. The Italian flagged MSC Melody – a cruise ship with 1,500 passengers en route from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy – repelled a pirate attack in April 180 miles north of the Seychelles Islands. A skiff with six apparently Somali pirates fired some 200 rounds at the Melody. A team of Israeli armed guards fired into the air, while ship crew members used fire hoses against the pirates attempting to climb aboard the ship.Some owners have resisted putting armed guards on ships, arguing that pirates will always be better armed and are likely to continue using their weapons on board, increasing the likelihood that crew members will be injured or killed.In most cases, pirates leave the crew members of hijacked ships unharmed, experts on Somali piracy say, but their tactics could become more brutal if commercial ships start fighting back
the latest headlines
Somali woman stoned to death - BBC
Somali pirates get $3.3M ransom, free 36 hostages - AP
Ethiopia denies rebels have captured seven towns" - Reuters
Seized tanker's captain dies, Alabama attacked again - Reuters
Spain: judge indicts 2 suspected Somali pirates - AP
EU plans training missions for Somali forces - Reuters

Spy Agencies' Quest: What Makes A Terrorist?

Investigators are still trying to determine whether Maj. Nidal Hasan's alleged deadly rampage at Fort Hood was a calculated act of radical Islamist ideology or the deranged act of an alienated loner.But even as military and law enforcement officials continue their probe, the incident has sparked a renewed focus on how Islamic extremists and al-Qaida sympathizers become radicalized in the first place. The U.S. government has focused significant intelligence resources on the question of radicalization in recent years, but they admit the dynamics are still not well understood. "We haven't completely figured out why some people are susceptible to that and some aren't," says a senior U.S. intelligence official. "There are people who argue it's cultural or economic or political or psychological, but it depends."The al-Qaida terrorist network has worked hard to build and maintain an active media arm, which pumps out propaganda videos, training materials and other exhortations across the Internet. Much of it is aimed at inspiring extremists across the globe to join the cause, but it remains unclear how effective the messages are. 'Some Kind Of Guide'"Generally speaking, there needs to be an intermediary — someone who helps you along the path to radicalization," says the senior intelligence official. "For the actual embrace of the global jihad, you can be launched on that path by your own research on the Internet, but in most cases, you do need some kind of a guide."In the Fort Hood case, investigators are looking into Hasan's correspondence with radical Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who used to deliver sermons at a Northern Virginia mosque that Hasan attended. ..more..http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120535493

Tanker captain dies of wounds: Somali pirate

MOGADISHU — The captain of a chemical tanker captured by Somali pirates this week off the Seychelles with 28 North Koreans on board has died of his wounds after being shot, a pirate told AFP Wednesday. "The captain has passed away due to the injuries he sustained earlier," said Abdi Mohamoud Samatar, a pirate close to the gang which captured the MV Theresa VIII on Monday. "He died of gunshot wounds," Samatar added.It was not immediately clear whether the captain, whose nationality is as yet unknown, sustained injuries during Monday's hijacking or after the vessel was seized."He was taken to Harardhere to get medical attention and was again returned to the ship while he was in bad condition," Samatar explained, referring to a coastal village in northern Somalia.The tanker was hijacked some 180 nautical miles northwest of the Indian Ocean archipelago.It was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but the pirates turned it around and headed north, the European Union's anti-piracy mission in the region said Tuesday.The Virgin Islands-owned freighter is operated from Singapore.Most of the attacks against foreign vessels by Somali pirates in the past month were carried out in or around the Seychelles exclusive economic zone.The world's naval powers last year started deploying warships in the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to curb attacks by ransom-hunting pirates that were seen as a threat to one of the globe's most crucial maritime trade routes.Pirate groups have since shifted their focus to the wider Indian Ocean, a huge area much more difficult to patrol, and started venturing as far as the Seychelles and beyond.Earlier Wednesday, gunmen attacked but failed to capture the US-flagged Maersk Alabama freighter some 350 nautical miles east of the lawless Horn of Africa, the EUNAVFOR mission said in a statement."The crew managed to repel the attack and no casualties were reported," it said, adding that a patrol aircraft from Djibouti was sent to investigate.In April, Somali pirates seized the Danish-operated container ship but were overpowered in a tussle with its 20-strong crew. The attackers however captured the skipper, Richard Phillips, and held him captive on a lifeboat.His five-day ordeal was ended when elite US Navy SEAL commandos shot dead three of his captors and captured a fourth, a teenager who is facing trial in New York.A week after the attack, the company's chief executive said it would reroute vessels to avoid the Red Sea and travel around South Africa's southern tip, citing concern for "the safety and security of our crews".