Al-Shabaab attracts fighters from the US to the Netherlands

The name Al-Shabaab (Arabic for 'the youth') has sprung up suddenly in various places around the world over the past weeks, from the Netherlands to Australia, and from the US to Indonesia.
Four men from the Netherlands who were arrested in Kenya last week were reportedly en route to an Al-Shabaab training camp. They were arrested in Brussels, Belgium, after they were deported from Kenya, and they have since been extradited to the Netherlands, where they are being held on suspicion of participation in a terrorist organisation.
Limited international agenda
This week four men were arrested in Australia on suspicion of planning an attack on a military base. They reportedly have ties with Al-Shabaab and some of them are said to have fought in Somalia. Al-Shabaab is thought to have attracted hundreds of foreign supporters of the jihad, primarily from countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the group seems to have a limited international agenda. Leading Al-Qaeda figures such as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri have called for a jihad in Somalia via video messages in the past, but analysts say that ties between Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab have never been definitively proven.

Clinton pledges US support to fight Al-Shabaab

Somali president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed asked for more international help on Friday to battle hardline insurgents after holding what he called an historic meeting with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Clinton pledged strong support for Ahmed's fragile administration following talks with him in Nairobi on Thursday, and she warned that Washington would take action against Eritrea if it did not stop supporting Somalia's rebels. Ahmed told Reuters the discussions showed the United States' commitment to restoring peace in Somalia. But he said that his government, which controls only parts of the capital Mogadishu, needed more help from overseas to beat the militants of Al-Shabaab. "The Somali government alone can not bring a solution to the mayhem these groups are causing," he said in an interview. "If we don't confront them with the assistance of the world, the situation may turn into an uncontainable security threat." Ahmed said foreign militants in Al-Shabaab's ranks had imported a hardline version of Islam that most Somalis rejected. "They are using religion as political tool, which we will not allow. Islam is a religion of peace and harmony. I cannot set a deadline for the liberation of Mogadishu, but we will free our people from these new-style gangsters," he said. Western security agencies say the Horn of Africa nation is a haven for extremists planning attacks in the region and beyond. ..more..http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2322849.ece/Al-Shabaab_attracts_fighters_from_the_US_to_the_Netherlands
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