AU Claims Defeat of Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu

                            AMISOM Force Commander, Major General Fred Mugisha

The African Union military force in Somalia has declared victory over Al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mogadishu.

Predicting that the insurgents will soon be crushed nationwide, senior AMISOM commander General Fred Mugisha declared  “All of Mogadishu is now liberated by Somalia Defense Forces by forces supported by AMISOM.”General Fred Mugisha said fighters of the Islamist extremist group Al-Shabaab have been expelled from every section of the Somali capital.Over the past few weeks, Al-Shabaab fighters have fled their last strongholds on the outskirts of town.Reporters who toured the capital over the past two days saw signs of a return to normal after years of Al-Shabaab control.AMISOM officials cautioned, however, that Al-Shabaab remains a dangerous force, and can stage hit-and-run strikes from the rural areas where it has fled. Gunfire could be heard echoing through the city after dark, and there are daily reports of explosions and grenade attacks.Less than a month ago, a female suicide bomber struck during ceremonies at the newly-rebuilt national theater, killing two of the country’s top sports officials.Nevertheless, General Mugisha suggests that the extremists are rapidly losing control nationwide, even in the traditional rural strongholds to which they have retreated.“There are still thousands out there supported by foreign fighters and jihadists, but we think at this pace, if we continue, it will not be long before we see the end of al-Shabab,” he said.With Al-Shabaab in retreat, AMISOM forces are busy consolidating their control well outside the city limits. Troops are constructing a barrier in the desert outside town to prevent the easy movement of Al-Shabaab forces.AMISOM officials say the emphasis is now shifting to building up Mogadishu’s unarmed and badly understaffed police forces.As the city returns to normal, police units from other African countries are being dispatched to train and equip a professional Somali force that can restore order after more than two decades of anarchy.

Source: VOA

Exclusive Report : Al Qaeda in East Africa, Somalia's Al Shabaab Allied With Al Qaeda in Kenya

Mogadishu — The militant group Al Shabaab said it has allied with Al Qaeda in a drive to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and fight for Muslims across East Africa, offering a fresh test for U.S.-backed African peacekeepers struggling to defend a weak Somali government.In an Arabic audio message posed Monday on Al shabab internet forum, the leader of Al shabab Sheik Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr said that both the militants in Kenya and Somalia had agreed, to connect the horn of Africa jihad to the one led by Al Qaeda.
Sheik Ahmed Iman, the leader of Islamic movement in Kenya also said that the group is happy to merger with Al shabab in Somalia, saying that they will continue carrying out attacks in Kenya.
It isn't clear whether this new resolution will result in funding or training from Al Qaeda, or even if it will lead to an official endorsement from the global terror group. At the very least, the statement signals a tightening embrace with foreign fighters who have been supporting Al Shabaab's efforts to topple the Somali government. .Sheikh Ahmed Iman

  link below  
two Audio below..Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali  Shabaab coordinator in Kenya Audio

Halkan ka dhageyso codka Hogaamiyaha Al-Qaacidada Kenya Shiikh Ahmed Iimaan ee hishiiska:

click on the link below. the leader of Al shabab Sheik Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr Audio

Halkan ka dhageyso codka Hogaamiyaha Al-Shabaab Shiikh Mukhtaar Abuu Zubeyr oo ka hadlaya hishiiska:

South African Mercenary killed in Puntland SOMALIA’S PIRATE STATE.Mainstream media picked-up our story> South African security trainer killed in Somalia

 mainstream media picked-up our story.

South African security trainer killed in Somalia

News From The Pirates of Puntland

A South African national was  killed last night  during an anti-piracy operation in Timirshe village of Isku-Shuban district, northeastern Somalia.Reports say the deceased who worked for a foreign security firm, Saracen International, a subsidiary of backwater International. He  was a mercenary soldier, mentor for Puntland Marine Police Force.Although details of the incident remain unknown, source say the mentor was shot dead by one of his Somali guards following a quarrel.The was preparing to lead a raid on pirate bases in Isku-Shuban area, a  well know pirate safe haven, some 160km east of Bosaso port city.The body of the slain mentor whose identity of the mentor has not yet been released was airlifted to Qaw location near Bosasso town, where Puntland’s coast guards are based.

Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole 

Related news and background information

Puntland government: Somali pirate . the latest : deep connection confirm

Puntland’s Dual Track Greed Policy

Update pirates free Puntland Minister SOMALIA:

Tribal enclave Secessionist Somaliland 'loots' air cargo after plane makes emergency landing

Somalia: Puntland-TFG Split may damage federalism

Is Puntland sabotaging and blackmailing Sheikh Sheriff Government?

Al Shabaab says extends reach into Somalia's Puntland

SOMALIA: Puntland is Deeply Concerned About Tribal Entity one clan secessionist aka Somaliland’s Growing Ties to Al Shabaab

'70 Somaliland Soldiers Fought Alongside Al Shabaab in Galgala' - Puntland........Somalia’s Separatist media committed to spread baseless stories

Clan Rivalry Complicates Terrorism Fight in Puntland

Demonstrations in Dhahar following Farole explosive remarks

Somalia's once stable Puntland hit by insurgency

Galgala: Farole’s Waterloo

Tribal enclave separatist Puntland sings ‘secret deal’ with Saracen Energy Company, based in Houston

Puntland forces attack al-Shabab in Somali mountains, Al-Shabaab Spreads Attacks to Somalia's Puntland State. Shabaab, Puntland forces clash in northern Somalia

Haatuf Newspaper Reports Somaliland Link With Al Shabaab

Fears Increase Over Insurgents in Somalia Threatening Puntland

Mohamed Saaili Shibin guilty over Quest hijacking

update on Federal trial begins in Va. for Somali man accused of being a high-ranking pirate negotiator

A US jury has convicted a Somali man of piracy for serving as a hostage negotiator during the hijacking of an American yacht.Mohammad Saaili Shibin was found guilty of piracy, kidnapping and hostage-taking over the 2011 hijacking of the SV Quest, near Oman.Prosecutors said he received at least $30,000 (£18,475) for negotiating ransom payments.The incident saw all four Americans on board shot and killed.Shibin was arrested by the FBI and military officials in Somalia in April 2011.He now faces a mandatory life sentence, due to be handed down in August by the court in Norfolk, Virginia. His lawyer said he would appeal.Two Somalis also charged in the case pleaded guilty last year and were sentenced to life imprisonment.Several others involved in the hijacking have also received life terms, while some face murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty.The couple who owned the boat, as well as two guests, were shot to death after a gang of 19 pirates took them hostage in the Indian Ocean..The four – Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California, and friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay, of Seattle – were the first Americans to die in a spate of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden.Two of the pirates were killed by US forces and another two were found dead on the pirates’ vessel. It is unclear how they died.

Source: BBC

Shabaab has not denied rumors of Omar Hammami's death

Earlier today, The Associated Press reported that Shabaab published a statement on its website denying rumors that Omar Hammami, an American who serves as a top Shabaab military commander, had been executed by the terror group. From the AP, emphasis is mine:An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group says its American commander who was feared dead in early April is still alive. Al-Shabab militants released a statement on their website Thursday saying Omar Hammami is in "areas under the control of Islam." The group denied he had been killed.

The problem with the AP report is that Somalimemo.net, the website that released the statement, is not an official Shabaab website. Abdulkadir M. Wa'ays, a former United Nations researcher and a leading authority on Shabaab who is based in Belgium, told The Long War Journal the following:

I can confirm to you that al-Shabaab had not issued any official statement on the matter as yet and that the AP is just using as [an official] Shabaab statement an opinion piece published by a pro-Shabaab Somali language website Somalimemo.net, which is not, BTW, al-Shabaab's official website as reported by the AP.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the statement from Somalimemo.net, gets it right when it describes Somalimemo.net as a "Shabaab-supporting news outlet." Below is a portion of the translation of the article from Somalimemo.net. You can see that the statement is not an official press release from Shabaab, but a 'news report' from the website:
A reliable source confirmed to SomaliMemo that al-Amriki is not in danger and that he safely lives in some parts of the Islamic provinces in Somalia.

"Abu Mansour is not in trouble... he lives in peace. It is not true that he has been killed; he is not even in danger." This is what we have quoted from a reliable source that is close to the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement.

Now, this is probably the most reliable piece of information yet to indicate that Hammami may indeed be alive, but it certainly is not an official statement from Shabaab.

Hammami released a video on March 16 in which he claimed that his '"life may be endangered" but he did not tell us why. One day later, Shabaab officially responded that Hammami is "not endangered by the Mujahideen." In the beginning of April, a rumor surfaced that Hammami had been executed by Shabaab, but the terror group still refuses to comment publicly on reports of Hammami's death.
via.. .longwarjournal.org

U.S. issues terror warning for bin Laden’s death anniversary

Days before the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, U.S. authorities are concerned about possible “lone wolf” terrorists who may use the date to avenge the former Al-Qaida leader’s death, Fox News is reporting.They have not seen any specific, credible threats to the U.S. homeland, Fox reports, but in an intelligence bulletin issued late Wednesday:

… the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command note that terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Northern Africa’s Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Pakistani Taliban have called for revenge against the United States for killing bin Laden during the May 1, 2011, raid on his hideout in Pakistan.The bulletin says Al Qaeda or its affiliates would view an attack “on this anniversary as a symbolic victory,” especially in the wake of losses suffered by Al Qaeda through U.S. drone attacks and other efforts overseas.Osama bin Laden, the former al-Qaida leader who masterminded the Sept. 11 terror attacks, was killed May 1, 2011, during a raid by Navy SEALs on his hideout in Pakistan, the Associated Press reported.
Bin Laden had been the world’s most-wanted terrorist for nearly a decade, since 9/11. In May 2011, the long and often-frustrating manhunt ended with a nighttime assault by a helicopter-borne special operations squad on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden was shot dead by one of the raiders, and within hours his body was buried at sea.via  sfgate.com

Africa: For African Anti-Terrorism, Region Must Lead, but U.S. Is Helping

document

Washington — Porous borders and weak security institutions have heightened the threat posed by violent groups in East and West Africa, and the United States is working with countries in both regions to counter the threats, not only by empowering their security forces, but also by promoting better governance, human rights practices and economic opportunities, a senior State Department official told U.S. lawmakers.In his prepared remarks for an April 25 House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Don Yamamoto said African countries affected by groups such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Lord's Resistance Army must lead the response to terrorism.

"Our regional partners have consistently emphasized that Africa's security is the responsibility of the Africans themselves and it is vital that the United States and other partners maintain supporting roles," he said."We will help them stave off legitimate terrorists but will avoid the trap of 'Americanizing' or 'westernizing' these counterterrorism fights," and thereby prevent extremists from bolstering "their own legitimacy by attempting to draw us into the conflict," Yamamoto said.

In Somalia, he said, al-Shabaab has carried out "conventional and asymmetric attacks" against the country's Transitional Federal Government and used the country as a safe haven to attack other countries in East Africa, such as the 2010 bombings in Uganda. It has also blocked humanitarian organizations from operating in areas it controls, making the country's food emergency worse.

With the help of the African Union Mission in Somalia, "achieving political stability, including a Somali government that demonstrates to the broader Somali population it is a viable alternative to al-Shabaab and is capable of sustaining itself, will be the best long-term counter to al-Shabaab," he said.Yamamoto said the promotion of democratic governance and opportunities for young people are "an essential priority in areas threatened by AQIM.""The region's youthful and better educated populations are demanding more transparency from public officials and expanded economic opportunities. These youth are increasingly aware of governance norms elsewhere in the world and yearn for the same basic rights in their societies. Rising governance standards in West Africa, in turn, are placing ever greater value on legitimacy and heightening intolerance of unconstitutional transitions of power," he said.Economic development requires countries to tackle corruption, he said, and the United States is supporting anti-corruption commissions in countries that are developing reforms, as well as activists who are using technology to increase transparency and hold governments accountable.Human rights abuses by security forces undermine their credibility, Yamamoto warned, and he urged the Nigerian government to promote respect for human rights and to engage communities in the northern part of the country that are vulnerable to Boko Haram."Heavy-handed tactics and extrajudicial killings reinforce northerners' concerns that the Nigerian government does not care about them. The appointment of a credible northerner to lead the government response to northern grievances would be an important step in that direction," he said.Yamamoto stressed that "religion is not the primary driver of extremist violence in Nigeria," and said the country's religious and ethnic diversity "is one of its greatest strengths."In his prepared statement to the committee, State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin said the State Department has several programs in Africa that are designed to address the emerging threats posed by violent extremists and others causing instability."These programs are about building the capacity of our partners to counter terrorist threats themselves, while maintaining respect for human rights and the rule of law," he said."This involves helping countries develop their law enforcement and legal institutions to do a better job tracking, apprehending, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating terrorists," and includes regional cooperation among African countries to "detect, deter, investigate and counter terrorism within their borders," he said.

For example, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership is strengthening government capacity to "combat the terrorist threat and to stem the flow of new recruits to terrorist organizations" by providing "positive alternatives to those most vulnerable to terrorist messaging."In East Africa, the Partnership for Regional East African Counterterrorism (PREACT) is helping to build counterterrorism capacity and the capability of member countries to "thwart short-term terrorist threats and address longer-term vulnerabilities" through law enforcement, military and development resources, Benjamin said.

"PREACT provides the U.S. government with a flexible and well-coordinated plan to help member countries' efforts to counter both current and emerging terrorist threats and prevent the spread of extremism and future terrorist threats over the medium and long terms. The strategy reflects recognition that the predominant threat to the region and Western interests is Somalia's chronic instability," he said.

West African nations, including Nigeria, are participating in the State Department's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, which "enhances border security and investigative capacity for all partner nations in West Africa to better enable them to confront the transnational movement of terrorist groups such as AQIM and Boko Haram," he said.

In her testimony, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Amanda Dory discussed efforts to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa, which she said is directly tied to the instability in Somalia."It has become a lucrative business; money from outside Somalia is invested in increasingly sophisticated equipment with the hope of extorting profit by threatening the lives of innocent merchant seamen," she said.In response, the international community, including NATO and the European Union, is undertaking anti-piracy operations in the area, and the patrols, along with steps taken by the commercial maritime community, have helped to decrease the number of successful hijackings, she said.But many African partners "lack the maritime capability to address this threat effectively," and Dory said the Defense Department wants to help them "build their capacity to increase maritime domain awareness and security."

After Osama bin Laden, al Qaida still a many-headed threat

WASHINGTON -- A year ago, U.S. Navy SEALs slipped into a heavily fortified compound in Pakistan and killed the face of international terrorism. There is a growing fear, however, that Osama bin Laden’s death didn’t even seriously wound the international terror threat. This past decade — as al Qaida’s core leadership was hunted, scattered and disrupted in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a number of sympathetic groups and individuals sprang up around the world. In the year since his death, their importance in this shadow world has grown.Richard Fadden, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said that this many-headed beast is expected to strike more and more frequently in coming years, and he cited the difficulty of identifying “lone wolf” terrorists — small groups or individuals who self-radicalize.

“It’s not easy,” he told a Canadian Senate committee this week. “These individuals seem to be a mix of terrorists and people who simply have very big personal problems.” An unexpected example emerged in a Norwegian courtroom last week: Anders Behring Breivik, the anti-immigration nationalist on trial for the murders of 77 people, admitted that he closely studied al Qaida’s methods. He called the group “the most successful revolutionary movement in the world.”Anti-terror experts see the al Qaida influence extending even as the core of the organization is thought to be down to an estimated 100 or fewer followers in its traditional home of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s ungoverned tribal areas. A Pentagon spokesman said that even that estimate could overshoot the total number who sleep in Afghanistan on any given night, which might be no more than a few dozen.Throughout the world, offshoot groups have adopted the al Qaida label. They’ve pledged cooperation, shared money and weapons, often trained together or advised each other on al Qaida methods, and shared both strict Islamist roots and a fervent hatred for the West.Rather than waiting for orders from above, these groups act first, then give credit to the mother organization, which in turn often offers praise that bolsters the affiliate group’s standing. U.S. and international forces have battled al Qaida in Iraq for years, and AQI is thought to be trying to make inroads in the uprising against President Bashir Assad in neighboring Syria. Experts said that five other such groups are considered the most dangerous, or the most capable: al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen; al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, based in Algeria and Mali; Lashkar-e-Taiba of Pakistan; al Shabaab of Somalia; and Boko Haram, a relatively young Nigerian militancy.They organize on the Web and use social media to communicate and recruit. They’re in contact with each other, offering advice, money, weapons and planning. They’ve been involved in attempted attacks in New York’s Times Square and aboard a Detroit-bound jetliner, as well as assaults in London, Mumbai and Fort Hood, Texas.The groups appear to have direct ties to al Qaida’s central organization. One AQAP founder was close to bin Laden. President Barack Obama called them “al Qaida’s most active operational affiliate.”As such, they are hunted. A week ago, an airstrike in northeastern Yemen killed Mohammed Saeed al-Umda, considered an original member and leader of AQAP. The source of the strike was unclear, but U.S. and Yemeni forces cooperate closely on counterterrorism.“What we’re facing today is a much, much larger global threat,” said Seth Jones, an expert at the RAND Corp. who’s advised the Pentagon on Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It’s a more dispersed threat. The threat is decentralizing to a broad network of groups. Al Qaida inspires, but doesn’t control, and they work with locals.”The meaning of that threat: Massive attacks such as those on 9/11 are unlikely to be repeated. But expect smaller-scale attacks — the “strategy of a thousand cuts,” it was called in AQAP’s slick online propaganda magazine Inspire.A deadly example came in 2009 with the rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, where Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, allegedly radicalized online by AQAP, is accused of shooting dead 13 soldiers. His trial is scheduled to begin in August.Experts note that these groups have largely localized agendas. Generally, they’re looking to impose Islamic Sharia law and, if not overthrow a local government, carve out a space in which to operate in their home country.But the al Qaida model encourages ideological hybridization: think locally, act globallyAs Jones pointed out, attacks that shake the United States can actually help further local goals. An attack that causes the United States to look inward can allow a terror group more room to operate elsewhere. And, problematically, even their failed attacks can turn out to be seen as successes: The Christmas day 2009 attempt to blow up a commercial jet as it neared Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Faisal Shahzad’s alleged 2010 attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square, both attracted international attention.Al Shabaab, which began in 2006 as the militant wing of a group of Islamist courts that briefly ruled southern Somalia, has also shown global ambitions — recruiting dozens of youths, mostly from Minnesota but also from Alabama, California and Ohio, to fight an insurgency against Somalia’s weak government and an African Union peacekeeping force.But Tom Sanderson, co-director of the Transnational Threat Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says that one of the most puzzling questions for those who track international terrorism is why al Shabaab — so far — hasn’t lashed out at the United States.

“The Shabaab network inside the United States is tailor-made for what al Qaida wants to accomplish in this country,” Sanderson said. “They have ties to al Qaida, they have the rhetoric. It’s not a very big stretch to turn that into attacks in the United States.”

To date, a Shabaab’s efforts have mainly focused in Somalia. In Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba — the Army of the Pure — has been around since 1993 and has been focused for most of that time on India. Its biggest attack _—a November 2008 assault on a hotel and other sites frequented by tourists in India’s commercial capital Mumbai — killed 164 people, including six Americans.

The group’s strongly anti-Western rhetoric and alleged ties to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate spy agency have fueled fears that it’ll soon look to strike farther afield — perhaps to the United Kingdom, where Sanderson noted there is “a ready-made diaspora, including youths who’ve become disenchanted with the West.”Similar reasoning applies to al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which is thought to want to strike outside Africa and particularly in France, the former colonial master in the region. The Algeria-based group has been using money from kidnapping and smuggling to buy up weapons from the caches of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Military and counterterrorism experts believe AQIM played a role in the success of the Tuareg rebellion in Mali, which touched off a military coup in the West African nation this spring.The group has also thought to have gotten some help from Nigeria’s Boko Haram, a worrying addition to international terrorism whose 115 attacks killed 550 people in Nigeria last year alone. The name — which translates to “Western education is forbidden” — tells of the group’s disdain for the West. Experts fear that its participation in Mali shows it’s willing to operate outside its national borders.“What is happening in Mali started as a nationalist, separatist movement, but has it been co-opted by a collection of Islamists?” said J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center. “It’s a propaganda victory, certainly. But more than that, consider that Boko Haram’s activities have forced Nigeria into inactivity in its own neighborhood. That’s an ally we can no longer call on. A local group, now pushing outside its traditional borders, has already hurt our national interests.”Experts agree that the main emerging danger is these localized groups expanding their ambitions outside their homelands. One year after bin Laden, international terror may no longer have a face, but its teeth are still sharp.  via KansasCitystar

Al Shabaab's Threat to Kenya .

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, released a message April 23 informing U.S. citizens in the country that it had received credible information regarding a possible attack against Nairobi hotels or prominent Kenyan government buildings. According to the message, the embassy has reason to believe the attack is in the last stages of the attack planning cycle.

The warning comes as thousands of Kenyan troops occupy much of southern Somalia. Along with a force of Ethiopian troops, local militias and a contingent of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, the Kenyans are placing heavy pressure on the al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al Shabaab in southern Somalia.

This external military pressure has exacerbated internal frictions within al Shabaab between nationalist elements and those with a more transnationalist ideology. Mukhtar Robow, aka Abu Mansur, leads the nationalist faction, which is based in the Bay and Bakool regions. Ahmad Abdi Godane, aka Abu Zubayr, leads the transnationalist faction, which is based in Kismayo.

It has been almost two years since we last examined al Shabaab's interest in conducting and ability to carry out transnational terrorist operations. The current warning in Nairobi provides a convenient opportunity to do so once again.

Al Qaeda in East Africa and the Birth of al Shabaab

Al Qaeda and Somali militants have long interacted. In a 1997 CNN interview, Osama bin Laden told Peter Bergen that his fighters helped the Somali militants in the 1993 battle of Mogadishu, the events memorialized in Mark Bowden's book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War (1999). Bin Laden and a good portion of the al Qaeda leadership relocated to Sudan in 1992, where they remained until 1996. During that period, they established a network of business and operational contacts across East Africa. By that point, they had trained militants in camps in Afghanistan for years. They could well have had operatives in Mogadishu in 1993 and could have provided training to militants involved in the incident.

After leaving Sudan in 1996, al Qaeda maintained its network in East Africa. It used the network to plan and execute the August 7, 1998, twin bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Nairobi attack proved deadlier. A massive vehicle-borne improvised device (VBIED) heavily damaged the embassy in Nairobi and several nearby buildings, including the adjacent Ufundi Cooperative Plaza, a high-rise that collapsed from the blast. The attack killed 213 people, including 12 Americans, and wounded some 4,000 others.

Some of the men allegedly affiliated with the 1998 attacks, such as Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Abu Taha al-Sudani and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, would later be accused of planning and executing the Nov. 28, 2002, attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, in which a VBIED was used to target the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel and two SA-7 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles were launched at an Israeli Boeing 757 passenger jet departing Mombasa's airport. The missiles missed the aircraft, perhaps due to countermeasures, but the VBIED killed 10 Kenyans and three Israelis.

Abdullah Mohammed, al-Sudani and Nabhan all fled to Somalia, where they worked with and were protected by organizations, such as al-Ittihad al-Islam, a long-standing Somali militant group later folded into the Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SICC), formerly the Islamic Courts Union. When Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in late 2006 and overthrew the SICC, many of the more hardcore elements joined the SICC youth wing, al Shabaab, which then became a separate militant organization. As noted, al Shabaab is not a unified organization. Instead, it is comprised of a number of factions led by individual warlords who each possess a slightly different ideology. The al Qaeda-linked foreign fighters in Somalia tend to associate with the more transnationally minded militants, such as the group led by Godane.

Since al Shabaab's spinoff, al-Sudani was killed in an airstrike in southern Somalia in January 2007. Nabhan was killed by a helicopter ambush in southern Somalia in September 2009, and Abdullah Mohammed was reportedly shot at a police checkpoint in Mogadishu in June 2011.

Al Shabaab Attacks Outside Somalia

Just over a month after we published our assessment of al Shabaab as a transnational threat, the group conducted suicide bomb attacks against two targets in Kampala, Uganda, on July 11, 2010. The twin attacks, which targeted people watching a World Cup soccer match, reportedly killed 74 and wounded another 70.

Following the Kampala attacks, al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage claimed credit for the attacks and said they came in response to Uganda's participation in AMISOM. Rage threatened additional attacks against Uganda and also threatened Burundi, which has furnished forces for AMISOM. But the group has not followed up on these threats, and there have been no additional attacks in Uganda or attacks in Burundi.

Kampala is not the only regional capital where militants associated with, or sympathetic to, al Shabaab have conducted attacks. On Oct. 24, 2011, a Kenyan who claimed to be affiliated with al Shabaab conducted two hand-grenade attacks in Nairobi, one at a bus stop and the second at a disco. The attacks killed one person and wounded 20 others. On March 10 of this year, several hand grenades were thrown at a busy bus stop in central Nairobi while a bus was loading passengers headed to Kampala. The March 10 attack killed six and wounded 63. Kenyan officials have called the March 10 attack the deadliest terrorist attack in Nairobi since the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing.

To date, the attacks in Nairobi have involved only grenades and have all been directed against soft targets (as were the Kampala attacks). In Somalia, by contrast, al Shabaab has carried out devastating attacks against hardened targets. For example, on Feb. 22, 2009, the group launched a suicide VBIED attack against an AMISOM base in Mogadishu that killed 11 Burundian soldiers. On Sept. 17, 2009, a suicide VBIED attack against the AMISOM headquarters at the Mogadishu airport killed 21, including AMISOM's deputy commander, and wounded 40. And on Oct. 4, 2011, al Shabaab detonated a massive VBIED outside a compound that housed government offices in Mogadishu. The attack killed at least 65 people and wounded hundreds of others. Al Shabaab can also conduct standoff attacks with rocket-propelled grenades or mortars launched at hardened targets, as seen by the frequent targeting of the presidential compound in Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab has also shown the ability to attack hotels in Mogadishu. On Dec. 3, 2009, a suicide bomber dressed as a woman attacked a graduation ceremony in a hotel meeting room and killed some 20 people, including four government ministers. On Aug. 24, 2010, al Shabaab gunmen disguised as government security forces conducted an armed assault on a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu that killed 30, including seven parliament members and two government officials. On Feb. 8, 2012, a suicide VBIED was rammed into a cafe outside the Muna Hotel, killing 11.

Capability and Intent

Whenever judging the threat posed by a group, one must examine its capabilities and its intent to conduct such an attack. In this case, we need to look at al Shabaab's capability and intent to attack prominent government buildings and hotels in Nairobi.

Al Shabaab has proved it can conduct attacks against soft targets in Nairobi. The group has also demonstrated the ability to strike soft targets in Kampala, though it has not shown the ability to follow up on its threats to conduct attacks in Burundi. Inside Somalia, the group is capable of conducting devastating attacks against hardened targets and against hotels in Mogadishu, as outlined above.

It is interesting to note that two days prior to the Oct. 24, 2011, Nairobi grenade attacks, the U.S. government posted a warning that the U.S. Embassy in Kenya had received "credible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks directed at prominent Kenyan facilities and areas where foreigners are known to congregate such as malls and night clubs." In the wake of the warning, it appears the attackers shifted from high-profile malls and places where foreigners congregate toward softer targets in the form of a low-profile local bar and a bus stop. This is perhaps due to the increased security at high-profile venues because of the warning and Kenyan government initiatives to crack down on al Shabaab in Somali neighborhoods in Nairobi. Likewise, the March 10 attacks were against a soft target in the form of a bus stop. This suggests the attackers were either unable -- or unwilling -- to target a more heavily secured facility. Notably, none of the incidents in Kenya were suicide attacks.

The wording in the April 23 warning is similar to that of the October 2011 warning, and the October 2011 warning proved accurate. Therefore, the U.S. Embassy likely has received credible information that another plot is being planned. Unless the attackers change their mode of attack, they are highly unlikely to succeed in targeting a prominent government building or a hotel housing Westerners -- especially in the wake of the warning, which undoubtedly has resulted in increased security at such sites.

In order to change their mode of attack from those using merely grenades to an attack that could damage a government building or a well-secured hotel, such as an attack involving a VBIED, al Shabaab would have to devote significant resources. While al Qaeda was able to do this in Nairobi in 1998, the present security environment in Kenya is quite different. While ordnance is still available in the country, it is far more difficult to obtain a large quantity of explosives today than it was in 1998. Even smuggling them in from Somalia in small batches would be a difficult, though not impossible, task.

For al Shabaab to undertake such a process, it would need good operational security, something that would be difficult to achieve given the fractious nature of the jihadist movement in Somalia. As the warning prior to the October 2011 attack demonstrated, there was an intelligence leak somewhere.

Furthermore, al Shabaab would have to expect significant benefits from such an attack to warrant such a risky mission. And it is doubtful they would. At present, Kenyan troops with the help of local Ras Kamboni militants have occupied a buffer zone in southern Somalia, but they have not made much effort to approach al Shabaab bases in cities farther southwest than Afmadow, such as Kismayo. Kenyan public opinion has been quite outspoken about the price tag attached to the Somali Surge, known as Operation Linda Nchi. Many Kenyans consider it an expensive venture that adds to the country's mounting debt. A repeat of the August 1998 bombing, only this time directed against a Kenyan government ministry, could radically change public opinion, steeling it in favor of dramatic military action against al Shabaab. Even though the current Kenyan military offensive has been poorly supported and planned, an angry Kenyan public could see the military offensive become much more aggressive, directly targeting al Shabaab. The issue would also gain notable political traction in the unfolding 2013 Kenyan presidential election.

Because of this dynamic, it seems the group is more likely to take any explosives it could devote toward a VBIED attack in Kenya and use them to conduct attacks against Kenyan forces in Somalia to make their presence in Somalia as uncomfortable -- and bloody -- as possible. The goal would be to influence Kenyan morale enough to encourage them to withdraw. Kenya, and specifically Nairobi, is also an important financial and logistical hub for al Shabaab. If the group did something to rouse the anger of the Kenyan government and alienate the population, its ability to use Kenya as a logistical hub for its operations in Somalia could be severely hampered.

Due to the importance of al Shabaab's Islamic base in Nairobi, Kenya's backlash against that community has been a point of concern in intra-al Shabaab politics. Notably, al Shabaab has denied responsibility for the past attacks in Nairobi, blaming them instead on its supporters. A major attack in Nairobi demonstrating an advanced degree of terrorist capability would make it difficult for the group to deny responsibility.

Even if al Shabaab could somehow muster the capability to conduct a spectacular attack in Nairobi, it would seem unlikely it would want to conduct a spectacular attack inside Kenya. We therefore believe it will stick to low-level attacks in Kenya for the foreseeable future. Via  Rightsidenews

Al Qaeda East Africa Jihadist Group Al-Shabaab still controls strategic airstrips in Somalia

TFG soldiers execute three Members of Al Qaeda East Africa alleged murderers in Gedo

update on  Al-Shabaab militants behead Somali district commissioner Gedo region Jubaland State of Somalia. 

and Al Qaeda East Africa Beheads Man

TFG soldiers in south-west Somali region of Gedo have reportedly executed three men for allegedly killing El-Adde district commissioner two days ago.The three faced firing squad at El-Adde town, some 60 kilometres from the area regional headquarter,Garbaharey, after they were found in possession of pistols.Mohamoud Sayid Adan, an MP in the region told Terror Free Somalia  that the men were responsible of the murder of the DC, Yahye Hussein, who was picked out of his house and later his body dumped in the forest.,,

Somalia: the Limits of Theoretical State

For a start, there is no denying that Somalia as a nation state exists. Yes it does. It’s on the world map; it’s also represented in the United Nations and numerous international bodies. It has a flag, a president, parliament, national army and police--although these nascent institutions are concentrated mainly in some parts of the capital city Mogadishu.

However, outside Mogadishu there is another reality. From much of South-central Somalia all the way to Puntland, there exists no geographic contiguity and a system of governance that directly takes its cue from the government in the capital city.  Yet the administrations of Ahlusunah waljameeca, Hiiraan, Xima & Xeeb, Azania and Puntland all claim, theoretically, allegiance to the TFG.

The TFG itself is a collection of unelected strange bedfellow – secularists, Sufis, Salafis, centralists, regionalists, federalists – brought together under the 4.5 power-sharing formula.
This ‘theater of the absurd’ is imposed on the Somali people for fear of Somalia becoming un-governed space and falling into the hands of international terrorist networks.

On the borders, the armies of neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia are currently deep in Somali territory claiming to assist the Somali government fight Alshaab. They do not, however, coordinate their activities with the TFG forces nor take orders from it. That is Somalia, a country that is free fall all, whose land, sea and air is everyone’s business.  The TFG officially represents this absurd country.

In what can be described as a case of misplaced priorities the TFG is undertaking momentous tasks in its Roadmap initiative. Among other things, they’re drafting a new constitution and readying the nation for elections. It seems these phantasmagorical projects are more important than improving the deteriorating security situation in the capital city and winning the war against Alshabaab. Or perhaps this war is never meant to be won at all. This goose that lays the golden eggs is better chased around than killed!

In another bizarre twist of events, the TFG is sending a delegation to London to hold talks with the representatives of the secessionist enclave of ‘Somaliland’. The agenda of the talks is everyone’s guess.  However, I will not be surprised if they agree to the secession of ‘Somaliland’. With the secessionist sympathizer Augustine Mahiga calling the shots, and the venue being London of all places, the expectation does not auger well. This view is informed by the haste with which the secessionists are rushing the process (they’ve announced their technical team ahead of the TFG) and the celebratory mood in Hargeisa relating to this issue. I shall not prejudge though. Perhaps the secessionists have exhausted everything and are looking for Sadbursi and a larger piece of the political pie of Somalia as they want to compete Puntland in the affairs of Southern Somalia. Even if so, the current theoretical TFG, is ill disposed to undertake such a momentous task on behalf of the country.  Granted, the TFG didn’t initiate this process; they were forced to do it, but they should have at least tried to convince the international community that the more pressing issues of security and stabilization of the country demanded their attention in the immediate term.

The Idea of a Nation and the Somali Condition

In a very thoughtful article entitled ‘The Role of Literature in Modern Africa’ (NewAfrican, Nov. 2010) which was written to commemorate the 50 anniversary since the dawn independence for many African nations, the famous Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stated that one of the reasons why most African countries are failing is the fact “that citizens have not yet absorbed the idea of a nation. “A nation is not about the geography of land but the geography of the mind. It is an idea, or a collection of ideas.”

Adichie’s says “what has made other modern states succeed is a faith in its own idea of what it is and its place in the world”, which is largely missing in Africa, as we place emphasis on the ‘rituals’ of “the flags and borders and anthems that keep a people ostensibly united.” I’m sure Adichie has no issue with flags and borders, as other successful modern nations have them also, but the lack of self-confidence in ourselves and the loss of collective sense of who we are as a people and how this creates dependency on others is what concerns her most. Thus, she writes: “We are a people conditioned by our history and by our place in the modern world to look towards "somewhere else" for validation, to see ourselves as inhabitants of the periphery”.  Adichie may have analyzed the current African condition from an imaginative literary point of view but this is also true in the arena of economics and politics. After more than fifty years of independence, Africans still communicate with each other in European languages. African countries do business more with outsiders than between themselves. It’s also easier and cheaper in many African countries to travel to one African country to another via Europe. The cash crop for export, at the expense of domestic production, is still the favorite foreign currency earner. Not to mention the brain drain. I can continue but there is no need to rehash the obvious. The so-called African Union (AU) has done little tangible work to fully integrate African states – politically, economically, and socially - since its founding.

Somalis were the opposite of this. At the dawn of Independence, the largely homogenous Somalis had a solid idea of their collective sense as a people. The geography of the Somali mind was not confined to the two parts that formed the union of Somalia in July 1960. This idea was printed on the flag, legislated in the constitution, and sang in the national song.  At the time, Somalis were a people cocksure of themselves and their place in the world. The Somali child first imbibed the sights and sounds of his native soil before she/he came to into contact with other cultures. Somalis had also embraced and supported the struggles of Africans who were fighting for freedom, such as Mozambique, Angola, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. 

Sadly that idea is today dead and gone. How it died and who killed it is not the scope or reach of this short article; rather it’s to show that Somalia as geographically contiguous nation state is not, currently, in existence. Nor is the idea which formed the original Somalia plausible today. Somalis are growing apart both mentality and physically. That is a reality that we cannot ignore any longer. We have lost the sense of who we are – collectively – as a people. We have become a people who look to others for validation and even rule. Adichie’s African condition is perhaps more Somali than African. 

Getting priorities right

The TFG is the only institution that represents this strange country that exists only in name. As such, they should thread carefully and not gamble with the future of this already fragile state by opening Bandora Boxes of secessionism which will certainly trigger cascading effects. The momentum created by the administration of former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed must not be squandered. Already Alshabaab are bouncing back with the recent deadly suicide attack in Mogadishu. This is because of the chronic over-dependency on foreign forces on the security of the country. It’s a national shame that Somali armed forces cannot hold their ground against Alshaab, let alone displace them without the assistance of AMISON troops. This dependency is ‘created fact’ which can be overcome if the TFG politicians in charge of the army put their priorities right. It’s only by empowering the Somali Armed Forces can the tide be turned against Alshabaab. Ultimately it’s the Somalis that must fight their fight. This open-ended foreign military presence is untenable and detrimental to the future of country. Just the other day AMISON troops were apologizing for running over innocent civilians. Apologies? Why not compensation or even criminal persecution? It‘s high time for the TFG to negotiate with AMISON  an agreement similar to Iraqi- American Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that should set a timetable for their stay in the country and regulate their activities in Somalia.

If we’re not deluding ourselves, the only way proper elections can be held and constitutional referendum be conducted, is by having boots on the ground in the provinces.

Secessionism can also be discouraged by negotiating from a position of strength and by offering better alternatives – that is, if you first put your house in order.

But instead of doing the obvious – which the majority of Somalis agree to - and putting their priorities right, the current TFG leaders, I’m sorry to say, are ‘Mending Rips in the Sky’, to borrow the title from Dr.  Hussein Adam Tanzani’s essay. 

Nuradin Jilani
Email:nuradinjilani@gmail.com

Al-Shabab leader features in annual TIME 100 list

Photo: LUKE WILSON FOR TIME

The self styled Emir of the radical insurgent group Al-Shabab, Sheik Moktar Ali Zubeyr (also known as Ahmed Abdi Godane) has been named to TIME magazine’s annual list of 100 most influential people.

He appeared in the “rogues” section alongside embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as well as Taliban leader Mullah Omar who both share a common allegiance to Al- Qaeda.

Godane, a veteran of the Afghan jihad, succeeded Sheikh Mukhtar Robow who led the group after the previous Emir Sheikh Adan Hashi Farah “Eyrow” was killed by a US Airstrike in May 2008. He first made international headlines in 2009 when he released a video urging Somali’s to fight against the TFG and its newly elected leader President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. In early 2010 he released another statement on behalf of Al-Shabab in which he voiced his support and allegiance to Al-Qaeda and that he and his fighters “agreed to join the international jihad of Al-Qaeda". He is a designated terrorist by the United States.

Time Magazine has said he is driven by a “hypnotic appeal of establishing God’s kingdom on Earth”.

In recent news, he has been linked to unconfirmed reports that he ordered the execution by beheading of American Islamist radical Abu-Mansoor Al-Amriki (Omar Hammami); as well as the infighting between Al Shabab leaders, most notably the group’s military commander in the south Sheikh Hassan Dahir “Aweys”.

U.S. Warns of Possible Attack on Buildings in Kenyan Capital

The U.S. Embassy in Kenya said it received “credible” information about a possible attack on hotels and government buildings in the East African country’s capital, Nairobi. While the “timing of the attack is not known,” the Nairobi-based embassy said in an e-mailed statement today, “the embassy has reason to believe that the potential attack is in the last stages of planning.” It urged Americans in Kenya to remain “vigilant” about their personal security. Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militia threatened to carry out attacks in Kenya after the country deployed its army in southern Somalia in mid-October to fight the militants. The rebel group has waged a campaign since 2007 to topple Somalia’s United Nations-backed government and establish an Islamic state. Two weeks after the Kenyan incursion began, one person died and at least 20 were injured in two separate bomb blasts in Nairobi that the government said were inspired by al-Shabaab. At least six people died and 68 were injured on March 10 when hand grenades were thrown from a moving car at people waiting at a bus station on the outskirts of Nairobi. Al-Shabaab denied responsibility for the attack.The U.K. government in January updated its travel advice for Kenya and advised its nationals to exercise “extra vigilance and caution in public places.” Any attack may be indiscriminate and target Kenyan institutions as well as places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, the Foreign Office said.  via Bloomberg news

Weekend News Roundup : Somali Prime Minister Abdiwali Mohamed Ali visited Daynille district in Mogadishu Front-line. AMISOM Captures Daynille Airstrip.Mortar slam into residential houses in Mogadishu, killing one person, Senior militant leaders defect to TFG side

AMISOM’s Burundian contingent last evening launched an operation to secure outstanding areas of the Banadir distict which extremists have been using to target the population in the capital, Mogadishu.In a press release the force said the operation resulted in the capture of the Daynille airstrip which was previously controlled by the extremist group Al Shabaab.Brigadier General Audace Nduwumunsi, the AMISOM Deputy Force Commander, said the operation was necessary to deny the extremists a platform to target the people of Mogadishu.“The international community has mandated AMISOM to secure Somalia so its people have the opportunity to select a form of government that is best suited to them. By securing the strategically important Daynille airfield, we have made a big step towards making this a reality and helping create the necessary conditions for reconciliation and reconstruction,” he said.In February the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution enhancing the AMISOM mandate and expanding its authorized strength to 17,731.AMISOM has expanded its presence throughout the south and central regions of the country including Banadir, Baidoa, Lower Juba and Gedo.

Mortar slam into residential houses in Mogadishu, killing one person

One person was killed and 11 others were injured when a mortar slammed into Mogadishu’s Wadajir district on Thursday night.Reports say the mortar struck the victims, mainly women and children, at their home compound in Obasibo neighbourhood, Wadajir district. The injured people were rushed to health facilities in Mogadishu for treatments.The area district commissioner Ahmed Hassan Adow blamed Al-Shabaab militants for the attack, saying that the group is against the wellbeing of the Somalis people. 

Senior militant leaders defect to TFG side

Two alleged Al-Shabaab militant leaders surrendered to government troops in Lower Juba, officials say.

One of the alleged defectors, Mohamoud Hajji Korane gave himself up together with two of his guards and a battle-wagon to the Somali forces in Qoqani town.
The militant leader surrendered Thursday evening after negotiating with the relevant government authorities in the area, according to TFG officials.
Another militant leader only named Anas also surrendered early Friday morning.
TFG official, Col. Mohamed Abdullahi confirmed the defection of the two militant leaders to terror free somalia, saying that the two were in contact with the area government officials for a couple of days seeking amnesty before giving themselves up.
Abdullahi said they will hand over these defectors to the government’s command centre in Dobley to ascertain the geniuses of their defection.
He further said they received them warmly to encourage other defectors to follow suit.
TFG has on several occasions in the past displayed alleged militant defectors joining their ranks, attributing this mass defection for their continuous provision of amnesty to militant defectors.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha oo maanta soo kormeeray jiida hore ee dhufeysyada degmada Dayniile ee duleedka Muqdisho.

 

Somali Prime Minister Abdiwali Mohamed Ali  visited Daynille district in Mogadishu

Warsaxaafadeed

Muqdisho, April 21, 2012-----Ra’iisul Wasaaraha Soomaaliya Dr. Cabdiweli Maxamed Cali Gaas ayaa maanta  booqasho kormeer ah ku tagay jiida hore ee dhufeesyada  degmada Dayniile ee duleedka Magaalada Muqdisho, halkaasi oo ay gacanta ku hayaan ciidamada dowladda iyo kuwa AMISOM.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa waxaa kormeerkiisan ku wehlinayay Wasiirka Gaashaandhigga dowladda Mudane Xuseen Carab Ciise, Taliyaha Hay’adda Nabadsugidda Qaranka Mudane Fiqi iyo saraakiil kale.

Waxaa Ra’iisul Wasaaruhu halkaasi ku soo dhaweeyay taliyaha Ciidanka Xoogga dalka Soomaaliyeed Gen.Diini iyo abaanduulaha ciidnak Xoogga dalka Soomaaliyeed Gen. Dhagabadan iyo Taliye ku xigeenka ciidanka AMISOM, waxaa warbixin ka siiyay taliye ku xigeenka AMISOM isla maraana sheegay in wakhti aan fogayn la wareegi doonaan Afgooye iyo Ceelasha Biyaha ciidankii howshaa qaban lahaana ay hadda diyaar ku yihiin halkaan.

Sidoo kale waxaa warbixino laga dhagaystay taliyaha Ciidanka Qaranka Soomaaliyeed Gen. Diini isagoo xusay in ciidanku ay ku shaqeeyaan daruufo adag isla markaana u babacdhigeen codawga iyagoo ka saaray goobo badan haddana ay diyaar u yihiin in ay difaacaan dalkooda iyo diintooda, waxaa kale oo uu xusay Generalka in lasoo kordhiyo lana tayeeyo ciidanka qaranka si ay awood ugu helaan inaay hantaan dhamaan amniga dalka.

Warbixinadaas kadib waxaa isna goobtaas ka hadlay wasiirka Gashaandhiga Mudane Xuseen Carab Ciise, isagoo tibaaxay in ciidanka Qaranku iska leeyihiin Mudnaanta koowaad dowladuna ku dadaalayso sidii ay u heli lahaayeen xuquuqdooda oo dhamaystiran, wuxuuna mahadcelin balaaran u soo jeedshay ciidanka AMISOM oo lagarab taagaan taageero ciidan.

Dhanka kale waxaa isna goobtaas hadal qiimo badan kajeediyey Ra’iisul wasaaraha XKMG ee Soomaaliya Dr. Cabdiwali Maxamed Cali Gaas oo u mahadcelieyey ciidamada XDS iyo kuwa AMISOM.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa shacabka ugu baaqay in ay la shaqeeyaan ciidanka dowladda islamarkaana ay kala shaqeeyaan nabadda galyada dalka.

Ugu dambeyntii Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa ganacsatada ugu baaqay iney bixiyaan canshuurta si ciidamada u hurayo naftooda iney ilaaliyaan amaanka dalka loogu siiyo mushaaraadka, Wuxuuna ciidamada ku dhiiri geliyay iney gutaan wajibaadkooda ka saaray dalka iyo dadka.

----Dhamaad----

April 21, 2012 (1 photo)

More photos from rahm Warsame

Edit photos - Tag people - Add text - Add more - Remove All

Al-Shabaab militants behead Somali district commissioner Gedo region Jubaland State of Somalia.

The beheaded body of a regional Somali administrator was Wednesday recovered in a gruesome attack blamed on militant group Al-Shabaab.According to government sources, an unknown number of armed men Tuesday night entered the house of Yahie Hussein Isaq, the district commissioner of Eel Adde, Gedo region Jubaland State of Somalia. a region some 400 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu.The Al-Qaeda allied militants reportedly abducted the administrator with this headless body found on the outskirts of the town.Transitional Federal Government spokesman for Gedo region Col Aden Ahmed Hersi said that the militants appeared to have caught the DC off-guard after he had earlier instructed his bodyguards to leave."He had told them that he would be fine," Col Hersi told the media. "Unfortunately, we found the DC's headless body lying in an isolated area with the head placed on his back."Eel Adde district residents told local media that government forces were frantically searching for those believed to have killed DC Isaq."Many people are scared that the tough investigation may affect their lives," a caller to a radio station said.Al-Shabaab has usually claimed the killing of Somalia transitional government officers and administrators.  by Rahm

Al Qaeda militants warn of terror attack in Britain if Abu Qatada is deported , Militant group al Shabaab has warned that Britain will face a terror attack if it deports Islamic cleric Abu Qatada.

The Al Qaeda militants warned of a “disaster” for Britain if the Government attempts to send Qatada back to Jordan.SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online activity from terrorist groups, said al-Shabaab had issued a warning on militant forums."The British public is also forewarned that it will be the British government, as a result of its imprudence, that shall be liable for any disaster that befalls them, or their national interests," the statement said, according to SITE.It comes a week after Al-Qaeda threatened to attack Britain if it decides to extradite Qatada.In a statement signed by Al-Qaeda’s general command and published on jihadist forums, the terror network said Abu Qatada's extradition would “open the gates of evil” on “Britain and its citizens everywhere.”“We warn the British government against extraditing Sheikh Abu Qatada to Jordan,” where he faces terror charges, said the statement, which called on London to “act with reason and wisdom … or it will regret it.”The warnings come as it emerged Qatada could be released back into society within days because of the confusion over his deportation appeal to Europe.Senior immigration judge suggested Mr Justice Mitting indicated that he would reconsider the preacher’s detention if his deportation was “not imminent”.Yesterday Theresa May, the Home Secretary, was faced with mounting evidence that her officials had made an error over a deadline for Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which may have allowed him to prolong his stay in Britain for up to a year.Any prospect of a lengthy legal process would greatly increase the chances of the cleric once described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe being granted bail, the judge suggested.Mrs May insists she was free to arrest Qatada and restart deportation proceedings on Tuesday because a deadline to appeal to the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg court passed at midnight on Monday.But Qatada’s lawyers argue that the deadline was 24 hours later, and submitted a last-ditch appeal on Tuesday night.Legal experts and officials yesterday suggested that Home Office officials were wrong and that Qatada made his appeal within the correct time frame. This could mean that the Home Secretary acted illegally by restarting deportation proceedings prematurely.Under pressure from Labour, Mrs May repeatedly refused to say whether her officials had asked the court when the deadline was. One MP demanded to know why Qatada’s lawyers had been able to “outwit the very expensive silks of the Home Office”.Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, warned there could be “serious consequences” if Mrs May’s interpretation of the deadline was wrong.She accused her of rushing the cleric’s arrest and opening up the Government to the possibility of being sued. “On Tuesday the Home Secretary told us the deportation of Abu Qatada was under way, on Wednesday it stopped,” Miss Cooper said. “On Tuesday she told us there would be no appeal to the Grand Chamber, on Wednesday an appeal was under way.“Yesterday the Home Office said the appeal deadline was Monday night but the European Court officials said it was Tuesday night. When the Home Secretary is accused of not knowing what day of the week it is, then confusion and chaos have turned into farce. This farce has serious consequences – additional delays, a greater risk Abu Qatada will be put out on bail and a risk he will sue the Government.”The dispute intensified calls from some Tory backbenchers to ignore Europe and go ahead with the deportation. Charles Walker, MP for Broxbourne, Herts, told Mrs May that ministers “must not delay in getting this scumbag on a plane out of this country”.Mark Reckless, a lawyer and MP for Rochester and Strood, said the Home Office was “institutionally incompetent” and likened the situation to the television comedy Yes, Minister. “The problem essentially is however much officials mess up, they aren’t held to account, and very often they are promoted,” he saidLawyers pointed out that a 40-year-old convention in the Council of Europe, the court’s umbrella body, indicated that any time limit measured in months should run to the same day of the month the judgment was made.Carl Gardner, a former government lawyer, highlighted rules that dictate when an appeal can be made from the domestic courts to Strasbourg. Case law from the European court states that the clock runs from the day following a judgment.The court blocked Qatada’s deportation to Jordan on Jan 17. Under either set of guidance, the window to appeal would not have closed before Tuesday April 17.In a further headache for the Home Secretary, advice from the Council of Europe yesterday said the appeal was lodged “just in time”. Via Telegraph

6 Terrorists Who Keep Coming Back to Life. Reports of American Jihadi's Death Greatly Exaggerated

Omar Hammami, al Qaeda Rapper

Omar Hammami, the Alabama-born rapping jihadist also known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, has died and come back to life yet again. The latest resurrection is at least the third reboot for the 27-year-old, who has acted as a mouthpiece for al-Shabaab, the Somali branch of Al Qaeda, since arriving in Somalia in 2006.

Hammami was first reported killed while fighting in Somalia in early March 2011. The next month he came back from the dead in style and with a beat, releasing two a cappella English raps -- to little critical acclaim -- in which he begs for martyrdom. As part of al-Amriki's attempt to recruit Western youth for jihad, he has released a half-dozen rap tracks on the internet since 2009.In July 2011, he was rumored to have been killed by a Predator drone, but later resurfaced.In March 2012, Hammami released a video in which he said he feared for his life at the hands of his Shabaab comrades."To whomever it may reach from the Muslims, from Abu [Mansoor] al-Amriki, I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by [al-Shabaab] due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of the Shariah [Islamic law] and matters of the strategy," Hammami says in the video.Via its official Twitter account, Shabaab expressed surprise at Hammami's fears, denied he was endangered and said he still enjoyed all the "privileges of brotherhood.Within weeks, however, rumors surfaced that Amriki had been executed by al Shabaab, a casualty of recent doctrinal infighting. Somali media reported, and Western media repeated, a scenario in which Amriki was beheaded on the orders of a powerful rival on April 4.Two weeks later, local Somalia media was reporting that Amriki had been sighted alive and well.It's hardly the first time a famous terrorist has been declared dead, only to reappear alive and well. Here are some other notorious terrorists who keep coming back to life.  via  ABC