British youths heading for Somalia for jihad training: Report

LONDON: Although Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the main destination for Britain's would be terrorists, British youths are increasingly heading for Somalia for "jihad training", a media report said today. British spy agency MI5 has warned that the number of young Britons traveling to Somalia to fight in a "holy war", or train in terror training camps, has soared in recent years as the war torn African nation has emerged as an alternative base for groups like al-Qaeda, 'The Independent' reported. According to the report, the number of young Britons following the trail every year has more than quadrupled to at least 100 since 2004. And the British authorities are particularly concerned about the number of people with no direct family connection to Somalia who are traveling to fight and train there, prompting MI5 to target the failed state as its next major challenge to their efforts to repel Islamist terrorism. In fact, the diversity suggests Somalia is flourishing as a training ground for radical British Muslims, who can join the local terrorist militia al-Shabaab (the youth), go on to join conflicts, including the Afghan campaign, or return home to pose a security threat to the UK, the report said. "We would have started at below 20 five years ago, when Somalia was not significant enough to be put under close surveillance," a senior Home Office source said. The source added - "It has been climbing noticeably every year. You have to remember that Somalia is not a place you would go for a holiday. It is particularly striking when people with no Somali family are going there; it looks as if some people are being attracted by the lawlessness."
War without Mercy the terror and violence in Somalia