One dead in blast at Mombasa bar

 update on Warning of terrorist attack on Mombasa. Kenyan police arrest Iranians suspected of terror plot

                                                    person has died in an explosion at a bar (live pic)

At least one person has died in an explosion at a bar in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, police sources say.

Initial reports said several others had been injured.The blast comes a day after the US embassy had warned that there was an “imminent threat” of a terrorist attack in the area.Earlier this week, Kenyan police had arrested two Iranian nationals over suspected links to a network planning attacks in Mombasa.Police also said they had recovered suspected bomb-making material in the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday.The explosion happened at around 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT), a police source told the AFP news agency.The bar was busy with people watching the quarter-final match between England and Italy in the Euro 2012 football tournament, witnesses said.Along with the US, France’s embassy in Nairobi had also warned its citizens to be “extremely vigilant” in the area.US officials had also been told to avoid the area until 1 July.In May one person died after explosive devices were thrown into a nightclub in Mombasa.Kenya has seen a number of grenade attacks since sending troops into Somalia last year to fight the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia.Earlier this year, the African Union force backing Somalia’s interim government was boosted from 12,000 troops to nearly 18,000 to incorporate the Kenyan troops.

Source: BBC

Govt Forces Seize Al Shabab Suspects in Luq Town, Gedo Region

Luq — Somali security forces have on Sunday detained at least four people in connection with Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabab militants fighting against the UN-backed Somalia's Transitional Federal Government TFG and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces.Eyewitnesses in Luq district, who spoke with Local Media by phone on Sunday that TFG forces have carried out hunt operations in villages located on the outskirts of the town, arresting 4 men whom were alleged to be members of Al shabab.
A military source, confirmed to Media on condition of anonymity that the arrested Al Shabab suspects are now held at a prison in Luq town for interrogations.On March 7, 2011, militia forces loyal to the Transitional Federal Government backed by Ethiopian forces, captured Luuq which sits southern Gedo province of Somalia from Al-Shabaab rebels, encountering little or no resistance.

Mombasa terrorist attack 'imminent,' warns US Embassy in Kenya

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) – The Kenyan government is protesting a U.S. embassy travel advisory that warned of an imminent terror attack on the coastal town of Mombasa, saying the advisory amounts to "economic sabotage" in a city that is reliant on tourism.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia and Tourism Minister Dan Mwadzo said the Kenyan government had officially asked the U.S. embassy in Nairobi to lift Friday's advisory.

The officials say the terror alert hurts Kenya's massive tourism industry. Mombasa is a major destination for foreign visitors.Kenya has often been on terror alert since sending troops into Somalia last October.

The Somali militant group al-Shabab has vowed to stage a major terrorist attack on Kenyan territory in retaliation.

Warning of terrorist attack on Mombasa. Kenyan police arrest Iranians suspected of terror plot

 update on Kenyan police arrest Iranians suspected of terror plot
Nairobi - The US embassy in Kenya on Saturday warned of the threat of an imminent attack in Mombasa as Kenyan police arrested two Iranians on suspicion of planning bomb attacks."This is to alert all US citizens in Kenya, or planning to travel to Kenya in the near future, that the US Embassy in Nairobi has received information of an imminent threat of a terrorist attack in Mombasa, Kenya," a statement said."All US government travel to Mombasa is suspended until July 1, 2012."France's embassy in Nairobi also warned its citizens to be "extremely vigilant" in Mombasa and the surrounding area.

Calling for calm

Top Kenyan police officials immediately made statements calling for calm."Police are working around the clock to guarantee security in Kenya," said Kenyan police commissioner Mathew Iteere.Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told AFP:"There is no cause for alarm, security agents are ahead of events. We are even working with the FBI and other international agencies in this war."

Two detained

The warnings came as Kenyan police said they had detained two Iranian nationals over suspected links to a terror network planning bombings in Mombasa and in the capital Nairobi.
="We are holding these two suspects, and they are being interrogated to establish their involvement in terrorism activities," said Aggrey Adoli, police chief for Coast province."They have been helpful, it is through them that we were able to find some chemicals which we believe is used to make explosives," he told AFP. The call to shun Kenya's second city is likely to further impact on tourism, a key revenue sector for the east African nation that only recently recovered from the violent fallout following the 2007 disputed presidential election.

Previous attacks

Since it invaded southern Somalia in October 2011 to help oust Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents, Kenya has seen a wave of grenade attacks and high-profile kidnappings of foreign tourists, blamed on the Shebab or their supporters.In May dozens were wounded when a home-made bomb exploded in a Nairobi shopping centre in May.In the same month, a restaurant in Mombasa was hit by a deadly grenade attack while two further separate attacks wounded at least eight people in northeastern Kenya.Last September gunmen seized a British couple -- Judith and David Tebbutt both in their fifties -- on holiday at a resort on the idyllic Lamu archipelago, killing David Tebbutt.His wife was captured and is believed to have been sold to pirates now holding her in central Somalia.Three weeks later, disabled Frenchwoman Marie Dedieu was kidnapped from her home on Manda Island and later died in captivity in Somalia.Briton Jermaine Grant, a Muslim convert, was arrested last year in Mombasa following raids to disrupt a campaign of planned terror attacks planned by the Shebab.He is accused of having links to Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of a British bomber involved in the 2005 London bombings.H/.T 24.com

Some Background Story.

Hawiye / Habar Gidir sub-clan saleeban hawiye criminal Terrorist Gang Kidnapped Judith Tebbutt British Woman Is Free. Once Again British pay ransom to Habar Gidir Hawiye gang

The remote hut where British publisher was murdered and his wife kidnapped... but was pirate gang tipped off by hotel worker? UK Special Forces are now joining the hunt for Mrs Tebbutt amid fears she has been taken by Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab.Kidnapped Briton possibly in Somalia.Kenyan police detain suspect over death, kidnap of Britons

Kidnapped wife kept on the move as she defies the killers by refusing food. Kidnapped Briton likely in Somali village

 

Revolution Muslim Co-Founder Sentenced to 11.5 Years in South Park Case STICKY: HAMMER TIME!

 UPATE ON  Zachary Adam Chesser, 21, of Fairfax County, Va.,

Revolution Muslim Co-Founder Sentenced to 11.5 Years in South Park Case STICKY: HAMMER TIME!

Member of Al Qaeda-Allied Organization Visits Washington

Member of Al Qaeda-Allied Organization Visits Washington

Africom Strives to ‘Turn on Lights’ Against Terrorism in Africa

Marine Corps Sgt. Joseph Bergeron explains combat marksmanship tactics to a group of Ugandan soldiers, Feb. 27, 2012. Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force 12 sent a small team of Marines into Uganda to train Ugandan forces to fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia and the hunt for Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jad Sleiman

STUTTGART, Germany, June 21, 2012 – Eliminating terrorist safe havens and support for terrorist groups in Africa is a top U.S. Africa Command priority, Africom’s top military officer said.

Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told American Forces Press Service he’s committed to working with African partners to confront violent extremists “that have very clearly articulated an intent to attack the United States, its allies, its citizens and its interests both within Africa and also more broadly, in Euro

All, he said, want to take advantage of ungoverned or under-governed regions where they can operate without restraint.

Countering this threat is the common denominator that drives Ham’s theater engagement strategy and its broad array of operations, exercises and security cooperation programs. This includes teaching partner nations how to improve their border security, intelligence and tactical capabilities and equipping African nations so they can operate more effectively.

“Ultimately, what we want to do through our activities – not just through Africom, but as a larger whole-of-government and international effort – is to ‘turn the lights on,’” said James Robertson, an Africom strategist. “And when the lights are on, we will find increased security and stability.”

Africa has struggled for decades with civil wars and conflicts, underdevelopment and poverty that make it inviting to terrorists from the Middle East, Robertson said.

“They want what Africa has to offer,” he added. “They want this ungoverned space so they can operate freely, and so our aim is to deter and disrupt them and, ideally, ensure that they don’t gain access.”

Recognizing the extent of the threat, Ham has set East Africa as the No. 1 focus of his commandwide counterterrorism strategy.

“Why East Africa?” said Army Maj. Gen. Charles Hooper, the command’s director of strategy, plans and programs. “It’s because East Africa faces the challenges that we face in Arabia, particularly Yemen, and the al-Qaida elements emanating from Yemen and other areas in the Middle East.” It’s also home to the al-Shabab terror organization in Somalia that formally announced its affiliation with al-Qaida in February.

Hooper also cited other terrorist threats in Africa. In the North African desert, the al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb organization is committed to destabilizing the trans-Sahara region and Northwest Africa. But its pursuits, he said, also threaten European allies across the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the United States.

He also noted concerns in the Gulf of Guinea, a major transit point for illicit trafficking in drugs, weapons and humans bound predominantly for Europe. In addition, a violent group known as Boko Haram has extended its influence to challenge the central government in Nigeria – a major economic power in Africa and a contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Africa’s vast natural resources compound the region’s strategic importance, Hooper said, particularly oil that’s exported to the United States.

“Access to the global commons, and stability in Western Africa and in those important sea lines of communication that run through the Gulf of Guinea and through Western Africa, remain important,” he said.
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
 

Captured French 'Qaeda' man headed to Somalia: Pakistanis

Pakistani officials said Thursday that a French Al-Qaeda militant linked to the 9/11 attacks was probably heading to Somalia when he was captured near the Iranian border.Naamen Meziche was detained in May after disclosures by Younis al-Mauritani, captured in Pakistan last year and apparently tasked by Osama bin Laden to plot attacks on Australia, Europe and the US."Meziche was probably on his way to Somalia when he was caught," one Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.The official said it was difficult to know exactly what route Meziche was taking on the day of his arrest.Western experts said he had been en route to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, a stronghold of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.But another security source suggested he was in transit from Iran, en route to Somalia."Recently lots of Al-Qaeda people left Pakistan to move to Yemen or Somalia. The tribal belt is a very important place for jihadis on their way, because there they can get the support, logistics and contacts to move on," the source told AFP.Pakistani agents are interrogating Meziche and information has been shared with American, French and German intelligence agencies, the first security official said."Eventually he will be deported to France," he added.The arrest came with Islamabad under huge US pressure to do more to eliminate the threat from Al-Qaeda and other Islamist militants sheltering on its soil.Pakistani-US relations have been in freefall since Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.Born in 1970 and of Algerian descent, security sources say Meziche is an "important" Al-Qaeda figure in Europe who was linked to the 9/11 attacks as a member of the Hamburg cell that the US says masterminded the 2001 hijackings.He reportedly recruited jihadists at a notorious mosque in the northern German city, which authorities closed in 2010 for breeding fanatics.

Three of the 9/11 hijackers, including their ringleader Mohammed Atta, who piloted the first plane into New York's World Trade Center, met regularly at the mosque before moving to the United States.

U.S. designates leaders of African group as terrorists

The United States has designated as terrorists three senior members of Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group in Nigeria whose attacks and those of its associates have left more than a thousand dead.

The State Department announced the designation Thursday of Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar, and Khalid al-Barnawi as "specially designated global terrorists" under the authority of an existing presidential executive order.

Shekau is the most visible leader of Boko Haram, the State Department said, while al-Barnawi and Kambar maintain close links to al Qaeda affiliates as part of their role in the group.

"These designations demonstrate the United States' resolve in diminishing the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks," the State Department said in a written statement announcing the designation. "The Department of State took these actions in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Treasury."

From its base in Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has waged a violent campaign of bombings of Christian churches in Nigeria that have killed hundreds and wounded many more. The group is also blamed for an attack on a United Nations building in the Nigerian capital of Abuja last year that killed at least 23 people.

The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," has referred to itself as the "Nigerian Taliban." It seeks to overthrow the Nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.

Obama administration officials have expressed concerns that the group is beginning to cooperate with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - the Northern Africa based affiliate of the group - and another al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, al Shabaab, to target American interests in Africa.

The announcement drew criticism from some on Capitol Hill who feel the State Department should have gone further by designating Boko Haram as a whole a terrorist entity.

"The legal ramifications of this designation only affect dealings with three designated individuals, and not the wider Boko Haram organization, which is growing in intent, capability and targeting capacity," Rep. Peter King, R-New York, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a written statement. "A conservative estimate of Boko Haram's size would be a couple hundred, making three members symbolic, but not sufficient."

"We're continuing to look at the question of a broader designation," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday. "Boko Haram is at the moment a loosely constructed group attached to trying to address grievances in the north (of Nigeria). There are different views within the group, and we're continuing to look at that."

The terrorist designation blocks all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the three individuals named, and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with, or for the benefit of, the three. Via CNN

South African Couple Rescued from Somali Pirates

Press Release

Acting Prime Minister Displays to media two South Africans rescued from terrorist groups

Mogadishu, Thursday, June 21,2012 – The acting Prime Minister of Somalia and Minister of defenCe, Hussein Arab Isse displayed Buruno and David, two South African couples who were held captives by terrorist groups for more than a year.

Arab Issa said the two were rescued in an operation carried out by the military and security agencies in an early morning raid which resulted in their release. Minister for defence stated that the Somali National Army (SNM) have the capability to carry out effective and coordinated military rescue operations.

Mr. Arab Issa thanked the Minister of foreign affairs of Somalia Abdullahi Haji who was involved in the arbitration between the government of Somalia and South Africa the release of the two hostages.

The two South African couples will be flown home from the Aden Ade International Airport in Mogadishu. Arab Isse stated the Somali government’s dedication and commitment to fight terrorists.

Minister of foreign affairs expressed his happiness in the successful operation of the Somali National Army in which the two South African natives were freed and pledged that the SNA will rescue other captives.

“We are happy that we have been rescued by the government of Somalia. We owe them our lives. We have been in the hands of the terrorist for almost two years”, David said in an address to the media.

Communication Director, office of the PM   Mobile: +252-616084650 Mogadishu, Somalia

Kenya: Al Shabaab Militias Flee to Daadab, Lamu

Senior Kenya Defence Force officers are concerned al Shabaab terrorists are escaping into Kenya as the operation to rout the insurgents from Somalia gains momentum. Intelligence reports indicate the al Qaeda-linked insurgents have been seen heading to Dadaab refugee camp and towards Kiunga, Kiwayu and Lamu islands. "They are escaping to Kiwayu and Lamu and they are being accommodated by the locals before those who have passports board flights and escape from the country. We also have information that some are heading towards Dadaab where they lay down arms only to mingle and disappear within the refugee camp. But that is an internal matter that has to be dealt with by the Internal security organs," a senior military officer said.

The concern comes as after reports revealed most foreign fighters within the al Shabaab ranks have been fleeing to Yemen. Meanwhile, 11 Kenyans are among recruits inducted into and fighting for the Ras Kamboni Brigade led by Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Islam, aka Madhobe, in the Juba area.

Abdinasir Sheikh, a Garissa resident, is one such recruit who has been fighting with the brigade for the last nine months. The lanky young man, who dons the jungle green tunic of the Ras Kamboni brigade and can pass for a Somalia national, comfortably mingles with KDF soldiers as he chats to journalists in sheng and Kiswahili.

Abdinasir, who tried to join KDF and the administration police thrice and failed in 2003, resolved to join Ras Kamboni brigade. He said many Kenyans have been dragged into the conflict, some of whom have been killed especially in the Elwak area. "There are many Kenyans fighting in al Shabaab and within Ras Kamboni and TFG. There are about 10 Kenyans who are with Ras Kamboni Brigade in this area but i also know that several others are in al Shabaab. TFG has several Kenyans who were recruited in Mandera and trained in Manyani before they were deployed in Somalia," Abdinasir said in an interview in Afmadhow last week.

The young man, whose mother and brother live in Nairobi, said he was recruited and trained by Ethiopians for four months before being deployed to fight against al Shabaab in Bardere, Jaldas and Dhoble. Abdinasir said he earns enough to cater for his two children who live with their aunt...via The Star (Nairobi)

Somalia: Terrorism Is a Symptom of State Failure

The African Union’s mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is having marginal success in pushing the terrorist organization al-Shabaab out of its occupied territory.

Al-Shabaab militants have retreated from strongholds in Baidoa, Afmadow, Afgoye, and the crucial port city of Kismayo. African military leaders are confident that their thankless task of defending the failed state is finally paying off. Nevertheless, until Somalia’s political situation is resolved, any initial success that AMISOM has will be unsustainable.

Terrorism is not the cause of Somalia’s chaos. It is a symptom of the lack of governance that has plagued the country for over two decades. Without a government committed to enforcing the rule of law and defending its population against malevolent forces, illegal militias, criminal groups, and terrorism will thrive.

Since the regime of General Siyad Barre was overthrown in 1991, Somalia has shifted in and out of 14 transitional governments. The current Transitional Federal Government (TFG)—infamous for its corruption, cronyism, and complete uselessness in addressing the needs of Somalis—is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by August 20. Yet every indication points to the creation of a new government that mirrors the current body.

Somalia’s elections are neither democratic nor likely to yield results that will bring about positive change. Rather than hold elections whereby every Somali casts a ballot, Somali politicians and the United Nations have agreed that 135 tribal elders will control the process. According to the Roadmap for the End of Transition in Somalia, selected elders will elect 825 delegates to the National Constituent Assembly no later than today, June 20. This deadline has not been met. The National Constituent Assembly will then elect members of parliament, which will then elect the president. This process has already caused controversy as accusations of bribery, corruption, and intimidation against tribal elders are rampant.

From the U.S. perspective, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in February at the London Conference on Somalia that the international community will not support the extension of the TFG beyond its mandate. Clinton also threatened to levy sanctions on individuals that obstruct the process, including on those within the TFG.

Yet, considering the undemocratic nature of the elections and delays, though expected, prospects for the transition to meaningful governance are grim. As the U.S. is one of the largest donors to AMISOM, it’s encouraging to see al-Shabaab’s retreat. However, good governance, rather than military might, will be the long-term key to alleviating the crisis.

For more information, see The Heritage Foundation’s Backgrounder “Saving Somalia: The Next Steps for the Obama Administration.”  Via  Protect America

Morgan Lorraine  The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation

Somali American Hawiye Jehadest Mohamud Abdi Yusuf sentenced in terrorism case. Former St. Louis airport cab driver sentenced to over 13 years in terrorism case

update on Al-Shabaab jihadists Mohamud Abdi Yusuf, 31, pled guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization

A refugee from Somalia who worked as an airport cab driver in St. Louis has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for providing money to a terrorist organization in Somalia.

The sentence for 31-year-old Hawiye Jehadest  Mohamud Abdi Yusuf was handed down Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. He pleaded guilty in November, admitting that he raised nearly $6,000 for Al-Shabaab, which was trying to overthrow the provisional government in Somalia.

The U.S. government named Al-Shabaab a terrorist organization in 2008. The case was the first post-Sept. 11, 2001, international terrorism case in federal court in St. Louis. AP

Former St. Louis airport cab driver sentenced to over 13 years in terrorism case

Rewards for Justice releases wanted poster for Shabaab leaders

The Rewards for Justice program has created a poster listing the seven senior Shabaab leaders who were added to the wanted list on June 7. The poster [below], which was obtained by The Long War Journal, is titled "Faces of Terrorism" and contains pictures of five of the seven wanted Shabaab leaders: Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed (a.k.a. Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr and Godane), Sheikh Abu Mukhtar Robow, Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, Sheikh Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, and Abdullahi Yare.Two of the wanted leaders, Ibrahim Haji Jama and Sheikh Hassan "Turki" Abdullahi Hersi (a.k.a. Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi), are not pictured as images of them are not available.Shabaab officially merged with al Qaeda in February, but had been working closely with the terror group for years. The two terror groups intentionally obscured their ties at the behest of Osama bin Laden.
For more information on the Shabaab leaders, see LWJ report, 7 Shabaab leaders added to Rewards for Justice most wanted list.

A jihadist propaganda website releases a statement bounty on President Barack Obama. Somali Islamists Offer 10 Camels As Bounty For Obama (Somali militants mock US bounty )

Kenya: Haji takes over, pledges to fight Al-shabaab

update on KDF goes for Al-Shabaab’s heart The new acting minister for internal security Yusuf Haji took over his new docket Tuesday. He pledged to continue operations on the Al-Shabaab militants and other criminal gangs in the country.

                                          New acting minister for internal security Yusuf Haji

Haji said his priority will be to ensure the country holds peaceful elections free of violence and any other threats.“My priority will be to ensure the country has peace and stability ahead of the elections. All internal and external threats including those from the illegal gangs will be dealt with,” said Haji.The minister who reported to his workstation yesterday morning said his experience in the provincial administration and now ministry of defence gives him an upper hand to deal with the security threats that Kenyans are facing.He said he will work with the ministry officials to ensure pending matters are addressed within the stipulated time. He reported as he signed an MOU with his Ethiopian counterpart on how the two countries will deal with cross border crimes.He was welcomed by assistant minister Simeon Lesirma and permanent secretary Mr Mutea Iringo.The officials briefed the minister on the major challenges they are facing include the threats posed by Al-Shabaab militants and local banned criminal gangs, coming elections and police reforms.The officials also said that the poor funding to the ministry is also a major challenge because they were not allocated what they wanted.The ministry wanted over Sh100 billion for their operations but was allocated Sh83.5 billion – in this financial year, an increase of about Sh5.5 billion from the previous vote of Sh78 billion during the 2011/2012 Financial Year.“We are happy you come in with richness from your current ministry. We received below what we expected,” said Lesirma.Lesirma added they intend to fully implement the Mututho Laws and deal with the menace of consumption of alcohol next month.Haji later held a closed door meeting with the departmental heads of the ministry.He was appointed following the death of his predecessor Prof George Saitoti who died in a helicopter crash together with his assistant Orwa Ojode last week. The two were buried over the weekend. Via  The Standard

Kenyan minister's death in helicopter crash fuels terrorism fears / Anti-Shabaab Kenyan minister killed in air crash

Exclusive Pictures : 2 Kenyan ministers among 6 dead in chopper crash.Kenya's internal security minister George Saitoti, and his deputy killed

Somalia: Life after Al Shabaab

HUDUR, Somalia — After hardline Islamic militants left town it didn’t take long for the kids’ late afternoon soccer game to restart in Hudur.Like musical ringtones and long trousers, clean-shaven faces and international radio stations, soccer was banned under the puritanical rule of Al Shabaab. For nearly four years arbitrary laws and brutal punishments were the order of the day.The few foreign aid agencies in the area were expelled, crippling medical care and reducing food supplies. Imams were kicked out of their mosques and schools closed. So when more than 2,000 Ethiopian and Somali government troops swept into Hudur in mid-April there were cheers as Al Shabaab pulled back into the surrounding countryside.As soon as the militants left, 19-year-old Hussein Abdi went to the market to buy a pair of jeans, dusted off his soccer ball and started hanging out with his friends again at the tea shops that line the uneven streets of Hudur, the regional capital of Bakool province with about 40,000 people.“Life was hard then but now it’s good. We dress how we want, play football, walk with our friends,” said Abdi. He was back at school again, too, and hoped, eventually, to make it to university.Abdulkadir Nur, the regional education officer, is responsible for reopening schools and getting pupils back on the standard curriculum after years of learning nothing but Arabic and Quranic studies.“We had made something here and Al Shabaab broke it,” he said. “Now we need to build their minds again.”After Al Shabaab left, the governor of Bakool region, Mohamed Abdi, a large man in a sparkly baseball cap known to all by his nickname "Tall," returned to Hudur from exile in a town straddling the Ethiopia-Somalia border. Like other government officials in Hudur, Abdi blurs the lines between civilian and military, running the administration and ordering troops.More from GlobalPost: Somalia: WHO reopens regional health clinic after Al Shabaab retreat

“When we came back the people were very happy, they came out of their homes to celebrate and welcome us,” he said.Mahmud Abdi, an intelligence officer, said when he first walked through Hudur, “You could see what Shabaab had done in the faces of the people: They were scared if you said ‘hi.'”Al Shabaab’s puritanical version of Islam ran contrary to the predominately Sufi beliefs of people in Somalia, and it was the local imams who bore the brunt of the rebels' theological zeal.“When Al Shabaab captured the town some innocent people were beheaded, others were arrested or fled town. Some imams were also killed but not here, in other towns,” said Sheikh Ali Ibrahim, imam of Buulow mosque in Hudur.”Mohamed, clutching a string of prayer beads and a slim collection of Quranic verses, was expelled from his mosque and only returned after Al Shabaab left. “The religion they adopted is something they made up, it has nothing to do with the Prophet Mohamed,” he said.Officials in Hudur were confident that although Al Shabaab were only 12 miles outside town they would not return. “The time of the hardliners is almost finished, Shabaab is dying,” said Mohamed Ahmed, district commissioner of Hudur.But the near encirclement of the town by Al Shabaab is causing other problems.Bakool was one of the first parts of Somalia to be declared a famine zone by the United Nations in July last year. Seventy-six-year-old Amino Mohamud survived thanks to a small store of sorghum she had saved up; others said they foraged for wild fruits, roots and grass.Last year was tough but Mohamud said although Al Shabaab was no longer in Hudur their presence could be felt in empty market stalls and empty stomachs. “Forget about [last year],” she said, “now is worse. We are besieged by Al Shabaab, movement is restricted, prices are rising.”Liberated towns like Hudur are islands of government control in a sea of Al Shabaab, which continues to control most of the hinterland and the few roads that cross it. Militant roadblocks ensure the movement of both goods and people is restricted.“We have encountered problems in terms of getting supplies in from other districts because [Al Shabaab] are blocking all the roads coming into the town,” said the governor, Abdi.“The businessmen are trying to bring their supplies into town by using donkey carts so they don't use the roads. The pastoralists are coming into town to sell off their livestock, but it is also difficult for them to come here through the official roads, as they are blocked,” he said.More from GlobalPost: Al Shabaab loses more ground

Abdi added that residents who want to return to Hudur from refugee camps along the Ethiopian border are also being blocked.One resident who did manage to return home was Abdirizak Nur, a 20-year-old who for the previous 19 months had been an Al Shabaab fighter battling African Union and Somali government forces in Mogadishu and other cities.Nur said he joined Al Shabaab willingly “for jihad, to defend our religion.” After training under an Arab commander in the south of the country he was sent to the frontlines. “There was fighting all the time,” he said.Eventually he was redeployed to his home region of Bakool and later deserted. “Too many innocent people were being killed, it wasn’t compatible with my beliefs,” he said.Unlike Abdi who now plays soccer every afternoon with his friends and is looking forward to life getting back to normal, for Nur it seems too late. He still wore his Shabaab camouflage uniform and was undergoing military training having signed up to join the government forces to fight against his old comrades.  Via  GlobalPost:

Ethiopia: UN officer guilty of terrorism

Addis Ababa - An Ethiopian security officer with the United Nations faced up to 10 years in jail after a court in Addis Ababa found him guilty on Monday of "participating in a terrorist organisation"."The defendant has not convinced us that he did not commit a crime... he's guilty," Judge Mulugeta Kidane said.
Abdurahman Sheikh Hassan, who was based in Ethiopia's troubled south-eastern Ogaden region, was charged last July with having links to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a secessionist rebel group.He is charged along with Sherif Baido, whom the charge sheet lists as a senior member of the ONLF and was convicted on the same charge in absentia, according to Kidane. The two men face five to ten years in prison. The court is expected to deliver a sentence on Friday. Hassan was arrested after negotiating the release of two UN World Food Programme (WFP) officers kidnapped in the Ogaden.

Evidence 

Judge Mulugeta said defence witnesses failed to prove Hassan did not have links to ONLF members.The key evidence used by the prosecution was recordings of phone conversations between Hassan and his co-defendant. The judge said the voices of Hassan and Baido had been matched to those on the tape after it was analysed by the cybercrimes unit."It has been proved by the cybercrimes section that it was their voices," he said.Hassan - an ethnic Somali who does not speak Ethiopia's main language, Amharic - stood expressionless as the judge read the verdict in Amharic. He appeared in court wearing a clean white shirt and holding Islamic prayer beads.The prosecution called for the court to impose a strong sentence against Hassan, saying his case should serve as a warning to would-be offenders."We want the court to take this as a really serious offence, he has a connection to the ONLF and he is a real danger to the country," the prosecutor told the court.

Leniency asked

But Hassan's lawyer Netsanet Getahun asked the court to be lenient towards her client."My client hasn't harmed anyone, he hasn't done any concrete damage... we want the court to be considerate because he has already served one year in jail," she said, adding that Hassan suffers from high blood pressure and heart disease and has a large family to support.

 Rights groups have criticized Ethiopia's 2009 "anti-terrorism" legislation for being far-reaching and used to stifle peaceful dissent and freedom of expression. Close to 200 people, including opposition members and journalists, were charged under the law in 2011. In December, two Swedish journalists were sentenced to 11 years in prison after an Ethiopian court found them guilty of supporting ONLF rebels in the Ogaden. Hassan was arrested in the remote Ogaden region, where ONLF militants have been fighting for independence since 1984, claiming they have been marginalised by Addis Ababa. Oil and gas reserves in the region have brought hopes of wealth but also fears of increased conflict.

- AFP

Hawiye / Habar Gidir Pirates Kill Each Other in the Coast Town of Hobyo

 Hawiye / Habar Gidir Pirates update

Hobyo — At least one person was reportedly killed and many others were injured as two heavily armed Somali Habar Gidir Pirates pirate groups fired at each other in the coastal district Hobyo, Mudug region on Monday morning, reports said.Witnesses in Hobyo town, north-central Mudug region of Somalia, said the fighting erupted when a bunch of pirates tried to apprehend forcibly another pirate gang in the group, and then started firing guns at each other."We woke up this morning hearing the barrage of bullets and sounds of artillery fire exchanging between two groups of  Habar Gidir Pirates pirates in Hobyo town. The fighting continued for hours and one pirate has been slain in that combat, a resident told Shabelle Media via phone from Hobyo.According to the latest reports indicated that the situation returned to calm and the skirmish subsided. The fighting halted for moment the movement of people and vehicles, frustrating locals.The town of Honyo in Mudug region of -North-central Somalia is believed to be one of pirates hide outs in the country where they can operate without much interference.Somali pirates have attacked hundreds of vessels in the Arabian Sea andIndian Ocean region, though most attacks do not result in a successful hijacking.

backgrounds related  stores,

British couple's family pay ransom to Habar Gidir Hawiye gang

no wonder that NPR sucks ..Polishing fictionalised story like this... Burnsville man pivotal in freeing British couple from pirates?? This is bollshit . Mohamed Aden is the real mastermind behind..Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin Acting like a Hero

Habar-gidir Hawiye Jehadist barbaric pirates,

Yacht wife held by Habar-gidir Hawiye pirates 'is suffering from scabies'

Somalia Islamist militants Mostly Gabar-gidir Hawiye Jehadest Hizbul Islam execute 2 men accused of murder and adultery in lawless country,

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Detain Somali Official in Gedo Region.Once Again Dectator-in-chief Meles Zenawi Continuous His kidnapping and Assassinate Top Somali Military Official

Ethiopian dictator Undermining the War on Terrorism. ( Ethiopian dictator Undermining critical time Mareehan clan Heartland Region Awakening) UPDATE

Luq — The Ethiopian troops operating inside Somalia to fight Al shabab fighters, have once again arrested on Saturday a senior TFG official in Gedo region after alleging in defiant the orders, reports said.

Official in Somali military forces in Gedo region, confirmed to Shabelle Media the arrest of Diyad Abdi-Kalil, the police chief of Luq district for TFG. The arrested official was order to go back to Garbaharey town, the capital of Gedo region, where he originally come from before Somali and Ethiopian troops wrested towns in the region from Al shabab militants."There ongoing negotiations to release Diyad Abdi-Kalail, the arrests official between Somali military and Ethiopian officers at Luq town, said a TFG official.Sources said, It is not the first time that Ethiopian troops in Gedo to arrest Diyad Abdi-Kalil, who is one of the top TFG officials in Gedo region, south-western Somalia.

illegal detention of Colonel Barre Adan Shire (Barre Hiiraale) on May 5, 2011 by Ethiopian authority

BARRE HIIRAALE IMPRISONED BY ETHIOPIA. Ethiopian dictator Undermining the War on Terrorism. ( Ethiopian dictator Undermining critical time Mareehan clan Heartland Region Awakening)

Somalia tops failed states index for fifth year

                                               Three Stooges of Current Somali Politics Mahiga & CO

Six African nations are in the top 10 of an annual failed-state index, including Somalia, which heads the list for the fifth straight year after continued struggles with lawlessness and piracy.

Somalia tops the 2012 Failed States Index because of “widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks against foreign vessels,” the list’s compiler, Washington-based nonprofit Fund for Peace, said on its website Monday.

The group’s eighth annual list, which ranks instability risks of 177 nations based on 12 social, economic and political indicators, was published Monday by Foreign Policy magazine. Nations ranking high on the list aren’t necessarily failed states, but are facing enormous pressure stemming from factors such as uneven development, economic decline and human-rights issues, according to Fund for Peace.

The top 10 nations on the 2012 Failed States Index are:1) Somalia  2) Democratic Republic of Congo3) Sudan4) Chad5) Zimbabwe6) Afghanistan7) Haiti8) Yemen9) Iraq10) Central African Republic

See Foreign Policy's interactive Failed States Index map

Foreign Policy magazine notes that Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is enjoying a period of relative peace. CNN has reported that African Union troops last year pushed Al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group affiliated with al Qaeda, out of central Mogadishu after years of bitter urban fighting.

But battles between the groups continue elsewhere in Somalia. And last week, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time publicly stated that U.S. military forces are engaged in direct action against suspected terrorists in Somalia.

The biggest shifts happened outside the top 10 - mostly rankings of countries that experienced uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East last year. The worst decline was in Libya, which went from well outside the top 60 to No. 50 "as a result of civil war, a NATO-led campaign of airstrikes and the toppling of the (Gadhafi) regime," the Fund for Peace said.

Syria, where an uprising has endured for more than a year, registered the fourth-greatest single-year jump in the index's history (from No. 48 in 2011 to No. 23 in 2012).

Haiti, which jumped to the top 10 last year after 2010's devastating earthquake, is the list's sole Western Hemisphere representative in the top 10.

Other notable rankings: Pakistan, No. 13; North Korea, No. 22; Iran, No. 34; United States, No. 159. Finland was considered the most stable, at No. 177.

KDF goes for Al-Shabaab’s heart

Kenya Defence Force now has its sights trained on Al-Shabaab’s last frontier and lifeline town of Kismayu, Somalia’s third largest town.It could just be days before KDF strikes the heart of the terror cell, having just liberated Afmadhow

Kismayu doubles up as administrative headquarters of Lower Juba, is the main base of Al-Shabaab and is considered its economic lifeline.The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took over the town in 2006 but it was overrun by Al-Shabaab in August 2008.Intelligence reports indicate that the warlords operating from Kismayu have been forcibly recruiting local youths into the cell and deploying them to fight KDF’s take-over of major towns adjacent to Kismayu.

The key towns that KDF is seeking to liberate from the hands of the militia before shifting the fight to Kismayu are: Jilib, Aglibha, Buula Haji, Bardhere and Bibi.In an effort to prevent KDF from advancing further, the terror group’s fighters are said to be keen on protecting a key bridge linking Afmadhow and Kismayu.“The decision to strike Kismayu will be made by AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) and Kenyan soldiers will ensure that all the major towns neighbouring (Kismayu) are liberated,” Colonel Cyrus Oguna, the KDF spokesman said.Following the fierce assault by KDF, Al-Shabaab fighters have lately adopted the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted on key roads used by Kenya’s advancing soldiers.

Supplies

“The militia group gets supplies of IEDs from countries that support terrorism in the name of religion,” Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nyagah, the Commander of KDF’s first brigade said.“Despite setbacks that we have encountered, we are going to soldier on and ensure Kismayu is captured from the hands of terrorists,” Nyagah vowed.Nyagah declared: “We have a mission to fulfil and we have resolved to pursue the militia deep into Somalia. We are out to assist the Somali people by setting them free from the clutches of terrorists.”Al-Shabaab in a desperate effort to rally the Somali people to fight KDF has claimed Kenyans wanted to propagate Christianity in the country dominated by Muslims.“We did not come here to propagate Christianity, as we are only after one group that has committed atrocities against the people. We want lasting peace to prevail in Somalia,” Nyagah stated.Kenyan soldiers are fighting alongside the Somali National Army (SNA) in the region under the command of Brigadier General Ismael Sahardid Keydsanen and the Ras Kamboni Brigade under the command of Sheikh Ahmed Madobe.

Liberated

“Kenyan soldiers have done a lot for the people of Somalia by liberating major towns which were formerly under the hands of the militiamen. The focus now is on the planned take-over of Kismayu,” Brig Gen Keydsanen said.Mr Ali Mohamud Rage, Al-Shabaab’s spokesman on the other hand has vowed that the militia group will protect the town against attack by KDF.Al-Shabaab has sponsored terrorism in East Africa and threatened Kenya’s security and tourism interests by hijacking ships, kidnapping tourists and interfering with sea-line communication.KDF has so far captured more than 15 towns since the Operation Linda Nchi started on October 14, 2011.

Colonel Daniel Bartonjo, the deputy sector commander listed towns captured by KDF in the Central sub sector to include Tabda, Dhobley, Hosingo, Hauina, Xayo, Diff, Belesc Qogani, Gherile, Shabah and Afmadhow.In the Northern sub-sector, the towns of Damass, Elade, Fafadun, and Busaar have been liberated.

Resistance

Al-Shabaab staged the biggest resistance against KDF at Dhobley, which was one of the most strategic towns for the militia owing to its proximity both to the Kenyan border and Dadaab refugee camp.“Al-Shabaab deployed 800 fighters to defend the town leading to a fierce battle that lasted six hours. In the aftermath, 200 militiamen lay dead,” Lt-Col Nyagah said.A total of 68 Al-Shabaab fighters are said to have been injured in the battle and for the first time, their fleeing comrades abandoned the injured. via The Standard

How to Help Somalia

 

BY ABDIRAHMAN MOHAMED MOHAMUD FAROLE

The president of Puntland State argues that to defeat the global threats of piracy, terrorism, and anarchy, the world needs to think locally. 

Recent headlines about al-Shabab terrorist bombings in Kenya and the disruption of Somali-originated terror plots in the Netherlands have served to reinforce the conventional view of Somalia as a war-torn country lacking a functioning government and infested with extremists and pirates -- the view also expressed by Foreign Policy's 2012 Failed States Index, which once again ranked it as the world's most unstable country.

 This view is not entirely wrong. But less widely understood is that several regions in Somalia -- particularly Puntland State -- have functioning governments that have taken concrete steps to address the threats of terrorism, political fragmentation, and piracy that plague the country as a whole. If the international community wants to get serious about helping Somalia -- and combating the internationally dangerous groups that take refuge here -- it must increase support for state governments, such as Puntland, and commit itself to a federalist Somalia.

The state government of Puntland, located in northeast Somalia on the Gulf of Aden, was formed in 1998. Puntland's goal is not independence from Somalia, but a federal system of empowered state governments -- the only viable political solution to the country's political crisis. Only a legitimate federal constitution can reunite a Somalia fragmented by more than 30 years of civil war and misrule. Such a constitution would solve the chronic mistrust among Somali communities, abolish anarchy, and ensure a clearly defined distribution of power, resources, and government functions.

The Somali people deserve peace and stability, and since its establishment, Puntland has made steady progress toward those ends. Puntland has held three successful and peaceful presidential elections and has played a leading role in the road-map process by hosting two National Constitutional Conferences. However, we still face daunting tasks when it comes to the two greatest threats to Somalia's security and stability: piracy and terrorism. As the recent events in Kenya and Europe show, these threats are not confined to Somalia alone.

Puntland is located at the very tip of the Horn of Africa. An estimated one-third of world maritime trade passes through the waters off our coast each year. Despite the best efforts of the international community, including a flotilla of NATO and EU warships and best practices instituted by the commercial shipping industry, Somali piracy continues to impose a significant tax on the global economy of approximately $7 billion a year. The acts of violence perpetuated by these pirates -- common criminals who hijack ships and demand enormous ransoms -- imperil the safety of seafarers and too often result in casualties.

Piracy not only fuels instability and criminality, but there are worrisome signs of ties between pirates and terrorist groups like al-Shabab, the Somali-based branch of al Qaeda, which threatens Puntland daily. In addition to attacking our own institutions by targeting and assassinating government officials, religious scholars, journalists, and community leaders, among others, al-Shabab has used Somalia as a base from which to attack other countries in East Africa. It has also blocked humanitarian organizations from operating in areas it controls, worsening Somalia's famine.

On multiple occasions, the United Nations has called upon Somali authorities to build solid law enforcement and security institutions to address the threat of piracy and terrorism while maintaining respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Although progress at the national level has been slow, in Puntland, we have taken those calls to action seriously. In 2010, with the endorsement of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, we created the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), a professional coastal police force that targets piracy and illegal fishing activities in Somali waters. The coastal police force -- which has been closely coordinated with and warmly welcomed by a number of international stakeholders including the United Nations -- has begun patrols and has succeeded in helping to drive pirates out of several safe havens and towns in our region. In late May, the PMPF arrested 11 pirates, including those suspected in the kidnapping of a Danish family last year. The PMPF is exclusively dedicated to its anti-piracy mission and does not engage in internal border disputes or oil exploration. Puntland's security forces have also successfully disrupted terrorist cells, including the capture of an al-Shabab-linked explosives expert, and provided cooperation to counterterrorism units operating in the region.

But if we are to maintain our hard-won peace and stability, we need more help from the international community. Specifically, we require law enforcement and counterterrorism training for local Somali forces such as the PMPF, judicial system development so that pirates and other criminals can be held accountable and properly brought to justice, and prison maintenance and expansion assistance so that convicted individuals can be detained locally in appropriate conditions. We also still need economic development assistance to uplift our communities and to provide alternative opportunities to piracy.

Since the collapse of the Somali state in the early 1990s, international assistance to the country has primarily been aimed at reestablishing a strong central government in Mogadishu. While we also support the rebuilding of Somalia's national institutions, the crises we face are too serious to wait. Increased support for Somalia's regional authorities -- the only institutions currently capable of establishing security and the rule of law -- is a matter of great urgency. I have no doubt that we can restore our country's dignity as a respected member of the community of nations and neutralize the threats of piracy and extremism. But we need the world's help. Via-   Foreign Policy

TFG welcomes U.S lethal attacks against Al-Qaeda

 

 General Abdikadir Shiekh Ali Diini, Chief Commander of Somali National Forces

UPDATE ON  US declassifying counterterror campaigns in Yemen and Somalia; no mention of drones. The Counter Terrorism All Star – U.S. Drones

Somalia has welcomed the recent U.S formal acknowledgement of its lethal attacks in the country as part of its fight against Al-Qaeda and its affiliate groups.General Abdikadir Shiekh Ali Diini, Chief Commander of Somali National Forces said his government welcomes such a move in order to fight Al-Qaeda and its affiliate groups in both Somalia and Yemen, according to the state-owned broadcaster.He said such move will boost their counterterrorism plans and give courage to the public and the armed forces.The Somali government has promised to take part in any effort against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the region.

AU, Somali forces capture town outside Mogadishu update

Al-Shabaab pushed back in Somalia by African peace enforcers

  Troops from the Amisom peacekeeping force in a camp for internally displaced people in Mogadishu. Photograph: Clar Ni Chonghaile for the Guardian

Soldiers from the UN-backed Amisom force are edging towards the Islamist militants' stronghold of Kismayo

Colonel Kayanja Muhanga is describing his troops' latest victory when suddenly there is a rattle of machine-gun fire somewhere beyond the fortified base set among thorn trees and cacti.

"That's about three kilometres away," the Ugandan commander says. "Mop-up operations. We know where they are."

"They" are al-Shabaab, the Islamist militia allied with al-Qaida who are in retreat. Having surrendered the capital, Mogadishu, last August, they were recently pushed out of Afgoye, a town 30 miles away, by a force of African peacekeepers aided by Somali troops.

Ethiopian forces have also driven them out of the southern city of Baidoa, and Kenyan troops, now part of the Amisom peacekeeping force, are edging towards their stronghold in the port of Kismayo. Amisom commanders, Somali government officials, and residents of Mogadishu say al-Shabaab, which means "the youth", is on its last legs. Its forces are scattered and weak, deprived of income and losing fighters.

 

 

The sites of the ongoing struggle against the al-Shabaab militia

There are increasing reports of rebels switching sides – young men such as Khalid, a 24-year-old who surrendered to Muhanga's forces and is helping Amisom winkle out militants hiding among the population in Afgoye. Khalid joined al-Shabaab four years ago. Speaking through a translator at Muhanga's base just outside Afgoye, he said he left because he saw the rebels were punishing civilians. "I found these people were deceivers," he said, cracking his knuckles. During the interview, his phone rang. Khalid said it was his former commander. He put him on speakerphone and they talked for a long time. Afterwards, the translator said the commander threatened to kill Khalid with his own hands if he ever caught him.

Khalid seemed unconcerned. "The most important thing is that [the militants] are not supported by the people … Shabaab don't have any strategic points. They are in the bush," he said. Increasing the pressure, the US last week offered rewards of up to $7m (£4.5m) for information on seven al-Shabaab leaders, the first time the militant group has been targeted by the Rewards for Justice programme. Khalid said it might lead to some "useful information".

The 17,000-strong Amisom force has notched up gains where others have failed, such as the US and the United Nations in the 1990s, and more recently Ethiopia, which invaded in 2006 but left three years later having failed to defeat al-Shabaab. Amisom is backed by the UN and funded by the international community. Its commanders acknowledge that without this support, it could not function. The troops are from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and soon Djibouti and Sierra Leone. Some Amisom officials believe this has helped win support among Somalis, who are notoriously hostile to foreign intervention. "This is a very unique partnership between the United Nations and the African Union [AU]," said Augustine Mahiga, the UN secretary-general's special representative to Somalia, in his Mogadishu office.

"What the AU has been doing is peace enforcement. Mogadishu is free, Baidoa is free. It doesn't mean it is the end of al-Shabaab but there are areas of stability and in these areas, we need to keep the peace."

It is certainly not the endgame just yet. In Baidoa last Thursday, one person was killed in a grenade attack on the foreign exchange bureau. The day before, a decapitated body was found nearby. Hundreds of children have also reportedly been snatched by al-Shabaab.

The deputy district commissioner Sandeere Mohamed Iftiim said children aged 14 and 15 had been taken from Baidoa but their families could not talk about it while al-Shabaab were in the town. "If they talked about it, they could be tortured or killed," he said, adding that he and other government officials were trying to encourage rebels, and the children forced to join them, to surrender.

Some of those calls are being heeded. Another official in Baidoa said around 36 "defectors" had formed a counter-terrorism unit. This group, the official said, had facilitated the arrest of 110 al-Shabaab fighters, including 40 members of the group's intelligence arm.

Many analysts say Amisom's next big military challenge will be capturing Kismayo. But Brigadier-General Paul Lokech, commander of the Ugandan contingent, said driving the militants out of the Shabelle region around Mogadishu was even more crucial. "If you liberate Mogadishu and Shabelle, that is where the bulk of al-Shabaab is. That is their centre of gravity," he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, an Amisom spokesman, believes an estimated 250 foreign fighters – from Britain, America, Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere – in al-Shabaab's ranks will flee if and when Kismayo falls. There have been some signs that militants are heading north, to the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and beyond. There are also fears al-Shabaab could seek to build stronger links with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen. Al-Shabaab still carries out suicide bombings and other deadly attacks in Mogadishu. There is no guarantee that further losses in Somalia would reduce the threat from the militants in neighbouring countries such as Uganda, where nearly 80 people were killed in an explosion while watching the World Cup final in 2010, or in Kenya where al-Shabaab and its allies have claimed several grenade attacks. The Islamist militants are not the only threat to peace in Somalia, which is regularly described as one of the world's most failed states: there are also freelance militias, former warlords and unscrupulous politicians. Military officials stress that they can only do so much. Somalia also needs a political solution and there are few who believe the discredited members of the UN-backed transitional federal government can or will deliver that. A new parliament and president are due to be in place by 20 August. But there are reports of bribery and intimidation of the traditional elders who are supposed to choose members of a national constituent assembly, which will then pick the new parliament.

Then there are the guns-for-hire and former warlords, who could re-emerge in the vacuum left by al-Shabaab. There are already reports that freelance militias are harassing displaced people in Mogadishu. Mogadishu's mayor, Mohamud Ahmed Nur, believes Somalia is at the beginning of a new era, one that is fraught with challenges, but not necessarily from al-Shabaab. "This is the beginning of the end of al-Shabaab," he said. "They lost experienced leaders and they lost weapons and manpower. And at the same time, the Somali people turned against them." His concerns centre on the fragile political process. "[Somalia] needs a very strong government with vision. If we continue this way, we are …. I don't know," he says, lifting his hands helplessly. Nur says al-Shabaab will be gone in six months. And yet, in a poignant reminder that the group could live on in some form even after a rout on the battlefield, he says he knows he could be killed any day. "It says in the Qur'an, you don't know where you will die or when you will die. So I will not worry about death or al-Shabaab." via Guardian News

US declassifying counterterror campaigns in Yemen and Somalia; no mention of drones. The Counter Terrorism All Star – U.S. Drones

  UPDATE The Counter Terrorism All Star – U.S. Drones

US declassifying attacks in Yemen, Somalia 

The White House is partially lifting the lid of secrecy on its counter terrorism campaign against al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia by formally acknowledging for the first time that it is conducting lethal attacks in those countries, officials said Friday.

 The White House's semiannual report to Congress on the state of U.S. combat operations abroad, delivered Friday, mentions what has been widely reported for years but never formally acknowledged by the administration: The U.S. military has been taking "direct action" against members of al-Qaida and affiliates in Yemen and Somalia.The report does not elaborate, but "direct action" is a military term of art that refers to a range of lethal attacks, which in the case of Yemen and Somalia include attacks by armed drones. The report does not mention drones or other weapons.

The report applies only to U.S. military operations, not those conducted by the CIA.The report does not provide details of any military operations in either Yemen or Somalia. It merely acknowledges they have happened. Killings of terror suspects overseas are acknowledged but the administration doesn't acknowledge the involvement of drones.The decision by President Barack Obama to declassify the existence of the counter-terror actions in those two countries amounts an incremental move toward greater openness about the use of U.S. force overseas.

The new information in the report comes amid outcries from some in Congress about leaks to the news media about details of classified activities such as the existence of a White House "kill list" of targeted al-Qaida militants. The accusation, mostly by Republicans, is that the White House has orchestrated the leaks to improve Obama's re-election chances, an allegation the president has rejected as "offensive" and "wrong."

Three administration officials who briefed The Associated Press on the decision to declassify the existence of the military's counterterrorism campaigns in Yemen and Somalia said Obama determined that the time was ripe, in part because the U.S. has built closer relations with the Yemeni government and with governments interested in eliminating extremist elements in Somalia. Somalia has not had a fully functioning government since 1991.