A number of Americans have traveled to
Somalia to join up with
al Shabab as well as
al Qaeda, according to a senior
U.S. administration official.The official, in a background briefing with reporters on Tuesday evening, said this is something "we have watched very, very closely."
Al Shabab has claimed responsibility for the bombings in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday that claimed the lives of 76 people, including one American.The official said
U.S. law enforcement is "very vigilant for any indication of individuals from
Somalia coming here to the
United States to engage in these types of extremist and terrorist activities."The
Obama administration has indications to prove
al Shabab was responsible for the attacks in
Uganda, but the
U.S. had no forewarning of these attacks."
Al Shabab was very much on our radar screen… but we didn't have any advance warning about that attack," the official said.New Mexico-born radical cleric
Anwar al-Awlaki is the most high-profile of
U.S. citizens to have joined
al Qaeda. He is affiliated with
al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and is believed to be based in
Yemen.President
Obama earlier this year approved the targeted killing of
Mr. al-Awlaki.
A number of individuals within
al Shabab have close links with
al Qaeda and its affiliates —
al Qaeda in East Africa (AQEA) and AQAP."These links between the organizations have existed for quite some time," the senior
U.S. official said, adding, "[
Al Shabab's] agenda is very similar to
al Qaeda's agenda. It advances a distorted and perverted version of Islamic goals."
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