French court jails Somali pirates for nine years

A French court has sentenced three Somali pirates to nine years in prison each for the hijacking of a yacht in which the skipper died four years ago.

The men were part of a group that boarded the French sailboat Tanit off the Somali coast in April 2009.
French commandos stormed the yacht in an attempt to free skipper Florent Lemaçon, his wife, their three-year-old son and two crew members.
They killed two pirates and captured three but they also accidentally shot Lemaçon dead.
The three accused - Mohamed Mahamud, Abdelkader Osman Ali and Mahamud Abdi Mohamed, aged between 26 and 31 - claimed that extreme poverty had forced them to turn to piracy and expressed regret for their actions.
"We weren't arguing that poverty justifies piracy," said defence lawyer Fabian Lahaie. "But there are the facts. When the pirates they were in utter poverty. The people who went them out to sea to attack boats didn't provide enough petrol to get back to shore, so they had to get a result to survive."
Lawyer Arnaud Colon de Franciosi, representing the survivors, said they were not looking "for vengeance" but that the accused should be "held responsible" for their acts.
The families believe the French government of authorised the operation to try and frighten potential pirates and did not pay sufficient attention to the hostages's safety.
"I believe that Florent Lemaçon died for reasons of state," Colon de Franciosi. "This operation was meant as a powerful signal to the Somalis, the hostages were a secondary consideration."
The sentence came as British director Philip Greengrass's film Captain Phillips, which stars Tom Hanks and is about the hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama off the Somali coast, hit screens around the world.

Suicide bomber kills 19 at restaurant in central Somalia:

A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people outside a restaurant popular with Ethiopian and Somali troops in the town of Baladweyne in central Somalia on Saturday, a local politician said.

More than 10 people were also wounded in the blast near a military base, Dahir Amin Jesow told Reuters over the phone from Baladweyne.

update

.BREAKING: AlShabaab claim responsibility for the Baladweyne attack. They say target was the Ethiopian troops.19 people died so far Somalia

Death toll from Beled Weyne suicide bombing climbs to 19,

AU Troops in Somalia

Aidan Hartley: How Muslim militants and Western jihadis wrecked enchanting Somalia

Al- Shabaab celebrating the Westgate attack in Somalia. They have brand new 4x4s

inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail into a tree and chanting his name. ‘He comes no matter how far away he may be,’ wrote Gerald Hanley in Warriors, his unrivalled classic about Somalia — for him a place of ‘swirling sandstorms, heat and billions and billions of flies’. But I need no nail in a tree to return to Barawe, which to me is a paradise I once aimed to make my home.

I first saw Barawe from the high, red dunes of the hinterland. It glittered white against the azure Indian Ocean: beautiful houses and mosques, a colonial Italian lighthouse ringed by a necklace of surf. It was 1998 and I had never seen anywhere so exotic, populated by very light-skinned descendants of Portuguese, Arabs and Shirazis. They spoke a northern form of Swahili called Chimbalazi and were full of poetry. The perfume of incense and halwa sweetmeats drifted through sandy streets. I swam off a white sand beach and found Amharic inscriptions in the ruins of an old fort. I was made a guest at a four-storey mansion where a banquet of delicacies was prepared in the courtyard below and then hoisted up by a coconut rope on huge copper trays.

Barawe, in those days an island of beauty and sophistication amid the horrors of Somalia, was birthplace of the eponymous Sufi Sheikh Uways al-Barawi. This great religious leader promoted a tolerant form of Islam that so many Somalis still worship by today. Al-Barawi was murdered on the orders of the Mad Mullah, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a fanatic who fought Britain for 22 years and left nothing good except poetry extolling ultra-violence. That tension, between extremism and decency, has been played out again in Barawe’s recent history.

I noticed that some of the most delightful Bravanese houses were abandoned. I was told that clan militias had used the town as a battleground. They menaced the prominent families so much that they fled — overseas and along the Kenyan coast, where they continued to hand-weave their wonderful cloth with its geometrical designs that told a secret story. For now, Barawe was calm, and I did not want to go.

‘What if I were to live in Barawe,’ I asked. ‘What if I were to buy a house?’ ‘Certainly,’ replied my host. He revealed that the title deeds were held by the elders — in Minnesota and London’s East End. If my offer was accepted, I could settle down. The price of a very fine house was no more than £7,000. I was not the first Westerner to own a home in Barawe. My host showed me one lovely place that allegedly belonged to Graham Hancock, author of great books like Lords of Poverty.

I tried to pursue my purchase, dreaming that I might cut myself off from the outside world, learn Chimbalazi dialect and fish for yellowfin tuna. But I found myself in Yemen, and then London. One day an intricately carved camphor chest arrived on a flight, with best wishes from my host in Barawe, and this sits at home today. Meanwhile, Somalia’s civil war flared again, hiding the bright horizon of Barawe from the world once more.

A few years ago militants of Al-Shabaab seized Barawe. They murdered local inhabitants. They beat Sufi worshippers and desecrated their saints’ shrines. They imposed huge taxes on the people, denied them vaccines or poetry, music or even football. The place became a base for the most vicious of all the Al-Shabaab fighters — foreign jihadis known as the muhajireen. Some of them were probably from Britain and other western countries. In stolen lovely houses they designed suicide vests, truck bombs and massacres. In 2009 American special forces in helicopters ambushed and killed a senior al-Qa’eda leader a little way inland from the huge red dunes.

In June this year two of the nastiest factions of Al-Shabaab began liquidating each other — as they do — in Barawe’s streets and a number of foreigners went straight to hell. Up the road a few weeks ago, Omar Hammami, an American known as the ‘rapping jihadist’ because of his YouTube jingles, together with Osama al-Britani, a British bomber and allegedly father of Samatha Lewthwaite’s two younger children, also died during internecine feuding. It appears that Barawe became the place where plans were developed for the vile attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall last month.

On 5 October, special forces of the American SEAL Team 6 launched a night raid on Barawe from the ocean, in a bid to kill or capture a man they did not get. After they withdrew into the waves, Al-Shabaab took reprisals against the local population. In London, where Islamophobic arsonists burned down the Bravanese community centre in June, these moderate, civilised people must wonder what they did to deserve all of this.

This article first appeared in the print edition of The Spectator magazine, dated 19 October 2013

What is a Dictator?

What is a Dictator?

Norwegian suspected of being Kenya mall attacker named. Hawiye jihadi Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, 23yrs old from coastal town of Larvik, 75 miles south of Oslo Norway

The man being investigated by Norwegian police over the attack on Kenya's Westgate shopping centre is Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, BBC Newsnight has learned.

The 23-year-old Norwegian citizen of Somali origin is suspected of helping to plan and carry out the attack.BBC Newsnight has spoken to a relative of his in Norway who said he left the town of Larvik for Somalia in 2009.At least 67 people died in the attack in Nairobi, which the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab says it carried out.

Last week Norway's intelligence agency, the PST, said it had sent officers to Kenya to verify reports that a Norwegian citizen had been involved in the assault on the shopping centre, which began on Saturday 21 September and lasted four days.It is unclear how many militants were involved. Police had initially estimated that there were 10-15 attackers inside the complex, but the CCTV footage which has so far been released by the Kenyan authorities shows just four men.

Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow is believed to be one of those four, the BBC's Newsnight programme has learned from sources in Kenya and Norway.

Phone calls home

Dhuhulow was born in Somalia, but he and his family moved to Norway as refugees in 1999.

One relative, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that Dhuhulow left for Somalia in 2009. He made infrequent, increasingly erratic, phone calls to the family, they said, the last one coming in the summer when he said that he was in trouble and wanted to return home.

On being shown the CCTV footage of the Kenya attackers by Newsnight, Dhuhulow's relative said: "I don't know what I feel or think... If it is him, he must have been brainwashed."

Reporting for Newsnight, Gabriel Gatehouse travelled to the coastal town of Larvik, 120 km (75 miles) south of Oslo, where Dhuhulow's family made their home.Morten Henriksen, one of the family's former neighbours, has not seen Dhuhulow for years. "He was pretty extreme, didn't like life in Norway… got into trouble, fights, his father was worried," Mr Henriksen said of Dhuhulow as a teenager.

When shown the CCTV footage of the four Kenya attackers he said that the one dressed in a black shirt or jacket could be Dhuhulow.
'Falling between cultures'

The deadly assault on the Westgate shopping centre lasted four days

 

 

 

Stig Hansen, an expert on security and political Islam based in Norway, told Newsnight said that he was not surprised to learn that a Norwegian citizen was suspected of taking part in the attack.

He said that an estimated 20-30 Norwegians had gone to Somalia to sign up as fighters for the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

"The biggest problem is the so-called 'Generation 1.5', those who weren't born in Norway, but came when they were quite young, falling between two cultures," he said.

"[Al-Shabab] need people who are quite ignorant about Somalia. That is in their interest because that will give them a more internationalist agenda. And it might also make them more dangerous when they return back to their home countries," he added.

There have been reports that a Kenyan al-Shabab leader whom US commandos targeted in a raid in Somalia on 5 October, but failed to capture, may have spent time in Norway.

Norway's TV2 reported that Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, also known as Ikrima, had travelled to Norway and applied for asylum in 2004 but left in 2008 before there was a decision on his application.

Norwegian officials have not commented on the claims.

Watch the full report in Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 BST on Thursday 17 October and on BBC iPlayer (UK only)

More on This Story BBC

 

On Westgate, New Details on Attackers Emerge

On Westgate, New Details on Attackers Emerge

happy eid mubarak to everybody

Wishing you all very happy Eid; may Allah bring us all the pleasures and treasures of life.




On this occasion, we must not forget our brothers and sisters who are under-served or are otherwise in trouble due shabaab and Hizbul Islam  Jihadist


Once again, Eid Mubarak to Everyone!

From Minneapolis, Minnesota Mohamed Aden Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin along with Mohammed Abdi Hassan, also known as Afweyneh or Big Mouth arrested in Belgium

Mr "Big Mouth" the founder of Somali Pirates and a Hawiye chief have been arrested in Belgium                Mohammed Abdi Hassan Somali pirate 'Big 

                                                                  Mouth' arrested in Belgium

I TOLD YOU SO Two Years Ago!!!

Minneapolis, Minnesota Mohamed Aden Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin Acting like a Hero

 

Belgium has arrested the suspected leader of a Somali pirate group after luring him to Brussels with promises to make a documentary about his money-making life on the high seas, prosecutors have said.

 

Mohamed Abdi Hassan, known as "Afweyne" or Big Mouth, was detained when he arrived at Brussels airport on Saturday with another suspect identified as Mohamed M. A. or "Tiiceey", federal prosecutor Johan Delmulle told a news conference on Monday. Tiiceey is a former governor of the Somali region of Himan and Heeb and is suspected in aiding Afweyne's pirate organisation, Delmulle said. Prosecutors said they decided to involve Belgian undercover agents after it became clear that an international arrest warrant would not be successful in capturing the men. "After patiently starting a relationship of trust with Tiiceey, and through him with Afweyne, which took several months, both were prepared to participate in this (film) project," Delmulle said. The plan was put into action after two pirates were arrested and sentenced for the hijacking of a Belgian ship in 2009. Prosecutors decided to try to target the people behind the act, not only those who carried it out and so set up the sting. "All too often those persons stay out of the frame and let others carry out their dirty business," Delmulle added. 'Notorious and influential' The prosecutor said Afweyne was asked via Tiiceey whether he would be prepared to be an adviser on a film about piracy, portraying his life carrying out hijackings off the East African coast and making millions of dollars from ransom payments. Prosecutors said it took months to reel Afweyne in and persuade him to come to Brussels, but would not provide further details about how the sting was carried out. Afweyne said in January he had put his pirate days behind him and retired. United Nations experts have accused a former Somalian president of shielding him by issuing him a diplomatic passport. Described last year by the UN as "one of the most notorious and influential leaders" in Somalia's pirate hub, he notably was involved in the 2008 capture of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star oil supertanker, released for a ransom of several million dollars. In 2011, Somali piracy in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the northwestern Indian Ocean netted $160 million, and cost the world economy some $7 b, according to the American One Earth Future foundation.  Pirate chief arrested after being lured to Belgium by police posing as documentary makers

Dumb and Dumber.. there is no need for  documentary movies Captain Phillips movie Already Out in Theater. Source:

Agencies   update Watch the video Police press conference

SNA officers resign after rejected request to give $ to families of soldiers KIA

National army officers resign following rift within the defense ministry officials

Mogadishu (tf.sf) Two senior officers of Somalia National Army announced that they have left the army after heavy rift with the leading officer of the National Army, RBC Radio reports.

Col. Abdirisak Said Hussein said he has decided to to resign after the top national army commander rejected to pay for the deceased soldiers’ families living in a very poor life.

“We have proposed the list of hundred soldiers who were killed in the line of duty, but unfortunate the commander in chief of the army rejected.” Col. Hussein told local media.

Col, Hussein argued that the national defense law gives full promise to the children and families of the deceased servicemen and servicewoman.

“We have decided to leave the service because we will be like those who were killed and the children were neglected”. he added.

The ministry of defense and the commanders of the national could not be reached for comment following the allegations from the two senior officers.

How to rid Somalia of al-Shabab once and for all -- in 6 (not-so) easy steps Analog War - By Roger Carstens | Foreign Policy

Analog War - By Roger Carstens | Foreign Policy

Nairobi attack puts pressure on Somalia leader to shape up or ship out | WardheerNews#.UlanOoIUge4.twitter

Nairobi attack puts pressure on Somalia leader to shape up or ship out | WardheerNews#.UlanOoIUge4.twitter

SOMALIA: WFP condemns ration card scamin in Mogadishu

mogadishu hawiye clan Crime bosses 

MOGADISHU/NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned a recently uncovered scam aimed at defrauding displaced people in Mogadishu, and urges residents of the Somali capital to beware of the illegal scheme.

WFP has learned that individuals posing as WFP employees have been selling fake ration cards to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mogadishu, claiming that these cards entitle the holders to receive food from WFP. These individuals do not represent WFP, the cards are not genuine, and payment is never required to access WFP assistance programmes.

“WFP is concerned about the fraudulent use of its name in efforts to cheat vulnerable Somalis, and calls on the authorities to take action against the culprits,” said Stefano Porretti, the WFP representative for Somalia. “As a humanitarian organization WFP categorically condemns those seeking to profit from the plight of the poorest people who have already lost so much. WFP never asks for money in order to be enrolled in its programs.”

WFP supports hot meal centres in Mogadishu, which provide daily cooked meals for more than 75,000 urban poor. No registration or ration cards are needed in order to receive this food, meaning anyone who shows up will be provided with a meal. The program is designed to be flexible so as to accommodate the changing number of people requiring assistance. The agency also provides specialized nutritional support to malnourished mothers and young children.

The work of WFP in Somalia aims to address basic food needs, strengthen coping mechanisms and support the efforts to achieve food security of vulnerable Somalis so they can cope more effectively with hardships.

WFP’s programmes range from relief, which is provided during emergencies, to activities designed to strengthen the resilience of households against future shocks, such as droughts and floods.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Last year, WFP reached more than 97million people in 80 countries with food assistance.

Bomb blast in Ethiopian capital kills two: state radio

Bomb blast in Ethiopian capital kills two: state radio

Lampedusa Tragedy: A case against President Obama?

Last week, a boat carrying mostly Eritreans capsized off the cost of Italian Island of Lampedusa and claimed hundreds of Eritrean lives.

Following the tragedy, the Eritrean Government issued a statement holding the U.S. government, corroborated by concrete evidence, primarily responsible for the gross loss of human life.

Besides reiterating its determination to defend the rights of its citizens in appropriate forums, the statement also calls for an investigation into the current and previous reprehensive crimes by an independent body.

For an honest observer, holding the U.S. responsible for these and other related death of Eritreans might seem outlandish. However, it is suffice to look in to what President Obama have said about his administration’s involvement in the trafficking of Eritreans out of their country in collaboration with some organisations and countries in the region.

In a speech he gave at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual meeting on September 25, 2012, he said,

“I recently renewed sanctions on some of the worst abusers, including North Korea and Eritrea. We’re partnering with groups that help women and children escape from the grip of their abusers. We’re helping other countries step up their own efforts. And we’re seeing results.”

This was the first time the U.S. administration publicly admits its involvement in the human trafficking of Eritreans.

Reading between the lines, one can get the impression that, the call for renewed sanctions against Eritrea was because the administration felt Eritrea is the worst human rights abuser and so the U.S. start partnering with groups and NGOs that smuggle and kidnap women and children out of Eritrea.

The President was also admitting that he is helping other countries (like Ethiopia and Djibouti) to step up their own efforts (… in collaboration with UNHCR) by opening stations and camps to facilitate easy border crossing for these smuggled Eritreans.

A year later, President Obama start seeing “results” of his unrelenting trafficking of Eritreans. The massacre of hundreds of Eritreans in Lampedusa last week and thousands of previous similar deaths in Sinai and Malta are vivid examples of his administration’s crimes against these poor east African people and their country.

(Outsourced from Haile Abrham’s opinion on dehai.org)

The 5th Annual Somali Diaspora Youth (SDY) Conference - Day Two

Captain Phillips - Official Trailer #2 (2013) [HD] Tom Hanks

Captain Phillips - Official Trailer (HD) Tom Hanks

Paul Greengrass and Barkhad Abdi Chat CAPTAIN PHILLIPS with AMC

Nin Somali diid snm ah oo cirka maraya oo dhacdo layaab leh ka sameeyay Magaalada Sydney "

Tom Hanks movie brings overnight fame to Minneapolis Somali

http://www.twincities.com/movies/ci_24280738/captain-phillips-minneapolis-mans-journey-takes-him-from

Rookie Mpls. Actor Now An Oscar Contender In ‘Captain Phillips’ « CBS Minnesota

Rookie Mpls. Actor Now An Oscar Contender In ‘Captain Phillips’ « CBS Minnesota

My best freand Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips’

http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_24276288/captain-phillips-movie-review-tom-hanks-and-newcomer

CNN's Christiane Amanpour's full interview with Barkhad Abdi about his r...

Salon Movie Critic Bemoans American Superiority

Salon Movie Critic Bemoans American Superiority

Nairobi attack puts pressure on Somalia leader to shape up or ship out

Nairobi attack puts pressure on Somalia leader to shape up or ship out

Kulanka Amisom iyo Somalida Mnpls MN. meeting in Minneapolis, MN

Jihadi Sympathizer Abdi Aynte in US Congressional Hearing

Senate Foreign Relations Reviews Security & Governance in Somalia

 

In light of the terror attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs conducts a hearing to examine the security and governance in Somalia. Chairman Chris Coons (D-DE) hears from two panels of State and Defense department officials, along with humanitarian advocates and international policy experts, on Somalia's terrorist threat. There was a one big problem in hearing,  one of the panel member is a known Jihadi sympathizer who runs Fake Organization .

Kenya President Mr. UHURU Kenyatta made it clear that President Hassan Sh Mohamud of Somalia needs to make his house in order.

His Foreign Secretary Dr Amina Mohamed said with #WESTGATE Alshabab terror attack, we are more "determined" to defeating Alshabab Terrorist group than before.

My suggestion: They, Kenyans and Ethiopians SHOULD NOT ALLOW, transit visas through thier... respective countries to the lobbyists Like MR. AINTE of Heritage Institute whose "Spiritual" TRIBAL LEADER - who lives in Mogadishu where heritage's office is also located - has time and again praised the Alshabab Terrorist group Attack in Westgate and called it "HEROIC WORK"

"The Ainte/s are the only known Trusted THINK THANKs of President Hassan Sh Mohamud that operatis in Mogadishu" per his own explanation in the hearing.

What we know thus far:

- UN Monitoring group reported that Mr. Ainte access to media as Aljazira reporter in QADAR country's wealthy Sheekhs is what brought Somalia Pressident Sheikh Mohamaud to power.

- In the blessings of President Hassan Sh Mohamud, he is able & in his own terms started rebuilding the Somali National Musiam in Mogadish, participants important "International Somali Conference" for the rebuilding of Somalia such as that of Japan & New Beginning conference in Brussels. - A rebuilding only is seen & felt in "MOGADISHU" !

- When he is not there by President Hassan's Somalia affairs international meetings his brother, the other Mr. Ainte - who posts his articles on African Arguments - is there as if there is 'shortage' of "HAWIYE clan SCHOLARS" who can DEFEND the rights of President Hassan Sh Mohamud...! Or perhaps that of Alshabab Terrorist group!

- Using the same language as that of Alshabab Terrorist group & that of his indirect boss, - President Hassan of Mogadishu - Mr Ainte calls JND ADMINISTRATION an administration made by "KENYA" blinddlessly forgetting that there's been process of election inline with FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL that took place in Jubbaland State & welcomed by the entire community.

The jubilation & the celebration of Jubbaland State diaspora overwhelming welcomed the selection of President Ahmed Mohamed Islan (Ahmed-Madobe) as their regional President still echoes in our ears and can be found in YOUTUBEs! - Niether Mr Ainte nor President Hassan visited Kismayo, Jubbaland capital city even though, Alshabab Terrorist group is defeated parts of that area.

Like his Mogadishu Presidebt, Mr. AINTE ignored in yesterday's congressional hearing to even mention the ironed out ADDISS ABABA ACCORD between Jubbaland State vs Mogadishu that took place in just last August 27. Something similarly done by President Hassan Sh Mohamud in His OHIO state visit with the community.

My question to you, all is: When will Somalia have FEDERAL CONSTITUTION advocate THINK THANK that can SAFELY operate in Mogadishu! Now that Alshabab has one in the capital!

 

 

Somali President Hassan Shekh Mohamoud most corrupt leader in Africa and Jihadi Apologists - Somali Muslim Brotherhood (dum jadiid Party) met huge demonstration  

 

via Dheman B

Obama administration says building an army a top goal in Somalia - The Hill's Global Affairs

Obama administration says building an army a top goal in Somalia - The Hill's Global Affairs

Westgate: Death, Destruction and Disappearing of Property

Westgate: Death, Destruction and Disappearing of Property

US forces target al-Shabaab leader in Somalia, seize Al-Qaeda leader in Libya

US forces carried out two major operations in Africa on Saturday, targeting an al-Shabaab leader in Somalia in connection with the recent Nairobi mall siege and nabbing an Al-Qaeda leader in Libya wanted for the 1998 bombings of US embassies.

(A) Baraawe.(Google map)

A US Navy SEAL team approached a seaside house in the Somali town of Baraawe before sunrise and fired on an unidentified target, reportedly killing an al-Shabaab leader. The SEALs were forced to withdraw before the killing could be confirmed, The New York Times quoted a senior American official as saying.

The raid was reportedly in response to the recent deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, which killed more than 60 people. Al-Shabaab - a Somalia-based cell of the Al-Qaeda terror network - has claimed responsibility for the siege.

“The Baraawe raid was planned a week and a half ago,” the American security official stated. “It was prompted by the Westgate attack,” the official added, referring to the Nairobi mall siege.

The Pentagon has confirmed the operation, but failed to mention whether the senior militant leader had been killed. "I can confirm that yesterday, October 4, US military personnel were involved in a counter terrorism operation against a known al-Shabaab terrorist," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said. "We are not prepared to provide additional detail at this time."

The Saturday firefight lasted over an hour and helicopters were called in for support, according to witnesses.

The Somali government was warned ahead of time about the attack, a senior Somali official confirmed.

A spokesman from al-Shabaab said that one of the group’s fighters had been killed, but that the group had won back the assault. US officials first reported that the leader of the group had been seized, but later retracted the statement.

 

 

US forces capture Al-Qaeda leader in Libya

Abu Anas el-Liby.(Photo from wikipedia.org)

US forces also captured senior Al-Qaeda leader Abu Anas el-Liby - wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania - in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Saturday, putting to rest a 15-year manhunt.

El-Liby was put on the US government’s most wanted list in 2000 after a New York court indicted him for his role in planning the embassy attacks. A $5 million reward was set by the FBI for information leading to his capture.

He was apprehended alive in a joint operation by the US military, the CIA, and the FBI, and is currently in American custody, The New York Times quoted an official as saying.

Senior officials in Libya’s transitional government were reportedly unaware of the planned operation. However, a US official claimed that the Libyan government was also involved in it.

Four attackers identified in Westgate mall siege

Also on Saturday, Kenya's military spokesman named four attackers involved in the four-day siege at Westgate Mall in the capital of Nairobi, which left more than 60 people dead in September.

The attackers are Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr, confirmed Major Emmanuel Chirchir. Al-Kene and Umayr are members of al-Hijra - a Kenyan extremist group affiliated with al-Shabaab – the former head of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, Matt Bryden, told AP via email. He added that Nabhan may be a relative of an infamous Al-Qaeda operative, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in a US military strike in 2009.

It was also revealed that a Sudanese man trained by Al-Qaeda was among the leaders of the mall siege, Kenya's government said.

An injured woman (C) is helped out of the Westgate Shopping Centre where gunmen went on a shooting spree, in Nairobi September 21, 2013.(Reuters / Siegfried Modola)

Over 200 civilians were freed after the four-day bloody hostage crisis in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Masked assailants armed with AK-47s and grenades launched their attack on the Westgate mall on September 21, reportedly targeting non-Muslims.

Аmong the victims of the attack were citizens from the US, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, China, South Korea, India, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Ghana. Five Americans were wounded.

The attack was claimed by Somalia's militant al-Shabaab group, which has links to Al-Qaeda. It said the hostage siege was a response to Kenyan military operations in Somalia. The group had previously threatened to strike the mall - a popular destination for the city’s expatriate community.

The FBI is currently investigating whether any of the attackers were US citizens, after media reports alleged that some of the names of the gunmen tweeted by al-Shabaab during the siege appeared to match up with the Twitter handles of Somalian immigrants living in the US.

BREAKING: US Navy Seals have killed the head of the Al Shabaab militant group, Fox News confirms

DEVELOPING: US Navy SEALS have conducted a raid of the Al Shabaab militant group in Somalia, killing at least one militant, Fox News confirms.

The group is linked to last month's Kenya mall attack that killed more than 60 people.

In Somalia, officials say international military forces carried out a pre-dawn strike Saturday against foreign fighters in the town of Barawe. Officials say the strike was aimed at "high-profile" targets.

The strike comes two weeks after Al Shabaab militants attacked Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

 

BREAKING: US Navy Seals have killed the head of the Al Shabaab militant group, Fox News confirms

 Somali officials said a raid by unknown foreign commandos in the coastal town of Barawe Saturday apparently targeted the militant group al-Shabaab.

The attack occurred two weeks after al-Shabaab carried out a bloody terrorist attack on a shopping mall in neighboring Kenya, and targeted what a Somali intelligence source said were "high-profile" foreign targets, Britain's The Independent said.

Reports from Barawe, about 150 miles south of the capital Mogadishu, said the commandos came ashore in small boats under cover of darkness and may have been supported by helicopters.

The source said the raiders were from another country but it was not immediately clear who they were and what damage or casualties the inflicted. Somalia's army does not have the capability to carry out such a seemingly sophisticated attack, the report said.

U.S. Navy SEALs sprung a similar attack in the same town in 2009 and killed a senior al-Qaida operative.

A spokesman for the military wing of al-Shabaab, which has strong ties to al-Qaida, issued a statement blaming unspecified western nations, the Shabelle Media Network reported.

"They tried to attack a house which belongs to the mujahidin but we retaliated back and forced them to flee. They escaped using speedboats and left behind some equipment which they used," spokesman Abu Mus'ab said in a recorded audio posted in the Islamist website.

will update soom..for more info.

Report: AlShabab snm leader believed killed by US commandos in Somalia; raid came in response to Nairobi mall attack

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy SEAL team seized a senior leader of the al Shabaab militant group from a seaside villa in Somalia on Saturday in response to a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the New York Times quoted U.S. officials as saying.

The SEAL team seized the unidentified target in a predawn firefight after approaching the beachfront house in the Somali town of Barawe by sea, the paper reported on its website

"The Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago," the newspaper quoted an unnamed U.S. security official as saying.

"It was prompted by the Westgate attack," he added, referring to a militant assault on a Nairobi shopping mall two weeks ago in which at least 67 people were killed.

The Times quoted witnesses as saying that the firefight lasted more than an hour, with helicopters called in for air support.

The Times report quoted a spokesman for al Shabaab as saying that one of its fighters had been killed in an exchange of gunfire but that the group had beaten back the assault.

The U.S. officials said it was unclear whether the SEAL team's target was taken alive or killed.

The paper said a senior Somali government official confirmed the raid, saying, "The attack was carried out by the American forces and the Somali government was pre-informed about the attack."

Earlier, al Shabaab militants said British and Turkish special forces had raided the coastal town overnight, killing a rebel fighter, but that a British officer had also been killed and others wounded.
Britain's Defence Ministry said it not aware of any such British involvement. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official also denied any Turkish part in such an action.

A Somali intelligence official said the target of the raid at Barawe was a Chechen commander, who had been wounded and his guard killed. Police said a total of seven people were killed.

AL-SHABAAB man shows up and CONFESSES in public over Westgate attack; he knew it and warned Government. | AFRICA NEWS POST

A self confessed Al-Shabaab suspect has shown up in Kitale in Trans Nzoia County claiming he knew about the Westgate Mall attack and warned several Government officials but they wouldn’t listen. The 52-year John Muthiora Ngaruiya, who confessed in the public of being an Al-Shabaab, noted that he travelled all the way from Nakuru to Kitale to inform Government officials about the impending terror attack on Westgate Mall, Limuru Bata and Delmonte Factory among others but they didn’t take him serious. Ngaruiya further noted that upon returning from Somalia and after being remanded for 8 years until 2010 for highway robberies, the Al-Shabaab gave him sh200,000 to recruit more people into the Al Qaeda linked group with the help of his Nakuru friend Mr. Muriuki, who was a manager at Murugu Farm. However, on September 1st this year, some Arab and Somali terrorists visited him and Kariuki at Murugu Farm and showed them photos of the buildings they wanted to attack and gave them sh200,000 each to get more youths to Al-Shabaab. But later on, he refused to betray innocent people and chose to share the information with the police both in Kitale and in Nairobi over the Westgate attack which was to happen in September. And to his surprise, the police took the sh200,000 he was given by AlShabaab and arrested him until after the attack took place. Ngaruiya is said to have recruited more youths from Kapenguria and North Rift to join Al-Shabaab since 2010. -

AL-SHABAAB man shows up and CONFESSES in public over Westgate attack; he knew it and warned Government. | AFRICA NEWS POST

Video of suspected terrorists at Westgate Mall emerges

Names and nationalities of some of some of the Westgate attackers have been released. NTV has also obtained footage of the attackers inside the mall.

How al-Shabaab was born

police officer tries to secure an area inside the Westgate shopping centre. Photograph: Siegfried Modola/Reuters

 

The attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi was intended to spread terror. In that sense, it worked. But if al-Shabaab's real motivation was to terrify the Kenyan people into demanding that their government withdraw its troops from Somalia, it failed dismally. Rather, Kenyans across the political spectrum have united to condemn a group that kills innocent civilians and then tweets about it.

Amid the outrage against al-Shabaab, it's important to recognise that terrorism does not happen outside of history. That is certainly true of al-Shabaab, which was born out of the Islamic Court Union, a loose formation of Islamic judicial systems that managed to restore some sort of civil order after years of a violent anarchy in Somalia, opening the Mogadishu airport and earning the support from a Somali majority. "The Courts achieved the unthinkable, uniting Mogadishu for the first time in 16 years, and re-establishing peace and security," said a 2007 briefing paper by the respected Chatman House (pdf).

From the start there was nothing ideal about the ICU; it was holding together a coalition of interests that ranged from the best of the moderates to the worst of the militants. This worried the United States so much that when George Bush was asked what he thought about the Courts, he replied: "[Our] first concern, of course, would be to make sure that Somalia does not become an al-Qaida safe haven, doesn't become a place from which terrorists plot and plan." Ethiopia, with the approval of the United States, subsequently invaded Somalia and splintered the ICU, with the moderates going into exile and the militants forming Al Shabab.

This meant that what should have been a Somali problem, requiring a Somali solution to address militancy within the ICU, became an Ethiopian and American problem. The end result was more anarchy in Somalia that now had no chance at a central authority, and the birth of al-Shabab.

In the long run, the ICU might have united Somalia into a country that had the interests of the majority at its heart – or one that was to become an outpost of terror. The point is that we don't know.

But that is only a sliver of the story in east Africa. Much of the conflict in the region can be linked to the imposition of colonial borders, whereby the Somali nation was carved up, parts of it served to Kenya and others to Ethiopia. As a result, Somali nationalists have been calling for a country in which the people who share the same language and culture can live within the same borders. But Kenyan and Ethiopian governments, in spite of the illogical nature of the colonial borders, have stood in the way of this ideal, leading to a low intensity warfare that occasionally flares up and inevitably leads to many Somali deaths. It was only recently that the Kenya government owned up to the 1984 Wagalla massacre that killed hundreds of Kenyan Somali.

The larger problem is that we live in an age where the supposedly good guys cannot claim a higher moral ground than al-Shabaab. That the US war on terror has been an act of terror is self-evident. Iraqi Body Count estimates the number of Iraqi civilian deaths to between 114, 688 and 125,275. Obama's drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan constantly humming above Pakistani and Afghani villages have caused so much fear, destruction and civilian deaths that they can only be understood within the framework of state terrorism. While arguing the numbers are contested, the Columbia Human Rights Clinic "found reports of between 72 and 155 civilians killed in 2011 Pakistan drone strikes.

In the meantime, the New York Times reports that on regular Tuesday mornings meeting, Obama "insist[s] on approving every new name on an expanding 'kill list'." In other words, the president of the United States of America has been openly engaging in extra-judicial killings.

In Kenya, the ICC has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy President, William Ruto of committing crimes against humanity during the 2007 post-electoral violence. In a bizarre case of multi-tasking atrocities William Ruto already appearing before the court was granted a one week leave to leave the Hague and go back to Kenya to deal with the terror attack. And true to form their allies, according to Reuters, would like to see the "ICC suspend its ongoing prosecutions…for two to three years."

When war and the rhetoric of war sanctions and normalizes the killing of civilians, we should recall Nelson Mandela's speech during his terrorism trial: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Mandela did not say he was prepared to kill civilians to reach his ideal, rather he was ready to die for the ideal that no one group, black or white, or one people or nation, should dominate another.

Mukoma Wa Ngugi is an Assistant Professor of English at Cornell University and the author of Black Star Nairobi (Melville, 2013) and Nairobi Heat (Melville, 2011)

8 Reasons Why al-Shabaab Killed al-Amriki

8 Reasons Why al-Shabaab Killed al-Amriki

Somalia's al-Shabaab - the people behind the terrorist

update on Secessionist Somaliland and Al Shabaab two faces of the Same Token (Al Shabaab Puzzle!)

 

 one-clan based entity that is trying to break-away from the Somali Republic and at the sametime is at war with other non-Isaaq Somalis in Northern Somalia that have rejected the idea of breaking away from Somalia. Lining up Isaaq clansmen and women and asking them to vote for the ever elusive 'recognition' does not make that entity a secular democracy.



the leadership of Al-Shabaab are from Somaliland (isaaq clan) who are using those postions they hold within Al-Shabaab to prolong the war in Somalia and to prevent any Somali central government from taking place in Mogadishu until Somaliland receives the ever elusive recognition.

8 Reasons Why al-Shabaab Killed al-Amriki

8 Reasons Why al-Shabaab Killed al-Amriki

Attn: Somalimemo.net

Attn: Somalimemo.net

Habar Gidir-Hawiye Clan pirates released new photos of an American /German journalist Michael Scott Moore kidnapped in Somalia 2012

update on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Michael Scott Moore: A Year In Captivity

Local Journalist in Galka'ayo confirmed Hawiye gangs are waiting Ransom
Hawiye Clan pirates released new photos of an American /German journalist Michael Scott Moore kidnapped in Somalia 2012

Habar-gidir sup clan  -Hawiye watch

INTERVIEW: Abdul Haji recounts rescuing Westgate hostages

Shabaab emir praises group's assault on Kenya mall - The Long War Journal

Shabaab emir praises group's assault on Kenya mall - The Long War Journal

i am not policeman I'm a sportsman..westgate hero interview

Abdul Haji recounts rescuing Westgate hostages.

Former Defense Minister Yusuf Haji’s son Abdul Haji was photographed rescuing many victims of the Westgate attack. He told NTV’s Mark Masai and Smriti Vidyarthi about how he got to the Mall and helped rescue many civilians.Abdul says that he is not a police officer but he has training from his father on how to handle guns.

http://www.africanewspost.com/2013/09/garissa-senator-yusuf-haji-son-saves.html?m=1

http://www.africanewspost.com/2013/09/garissa-senator-yusuf-haji-son-saves.html?m=1

Al Shabaab: Women, Children, Infidels are "Legitimate Targets"

 

Know thy enemy:

At least 18 foreigners were killed, including six Britons, citizens from France, Canada, Trinidad, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China, when the militants entered the Westgate Mall on Saturday, slaughtering men, women and children with assault rifles and grenades. The current death toll is 67 and is likely to climb with uncounted bodies remaining in the rubble of the Nairobi mall.

"The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the Kuffar (disbelievers) before carrying out their attack," al-Shabab said in an email from the HSM Press Office.

When we intentionally kill women and children, we're ashamed of it and we prosecute those responsible. When they kill women and children, they're proud of it and call those responsible heroes.

Warriors: I do not think that word means what you think it means.H/T By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D.

Kenyan President Says Attackers 'Shamed and Defeated' Kenyatta Says Five Militants Are Dead, Declared Three Days of Mourning

NAIROBI, Kenya—President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday that militants inside an upscale shopping mall here have been "shamed and defeated," four days after the siege began.

In an address to the nation on Tuesday night, Mr. Kenyatta said five militants had been killed and 11 suspects were in police custody.

Mr. Kenyatta also mentioned unconfirmed intelligence reports that two or three Americans were involved as well as a British woman, but said an investigation into the nationalities of the attackers was continuing.

Militants entered the popular Westgate shopping mall—a popular spot for wealthy Kenyan and expatriates—and began shooting at the Saturday lunchtime crowd.

In a fierce final exchange as night fell Tuesday, Kenyan soldiers fired rocket propelled grenades at insurgents, triggering the explosives that the al Shabaab militants had rigged inside the building, according to a group of soldiers outside of the mall.

The massive blasts caused three of the mall's floors to collapse upon each other. Although the structure of the building remained, the collapsed floors made survival for anyone inside unlikely, according to a lieutenant in the Kenyan Defense Forces.

The lieutenant said he hadn't seen any hostages during the final stages of the operation.

"As far as we're concerned, the operation is complete," he said. "We don't expect there's anyone alive in there."

The lieutenant said it wasn't possible to see inside the building because power systems had been destroyed. Rescue operations were expected only expected to begin Wednesday morning, he said.

"We have shamed and defeated our attackers," he said..   more

Stupid Jihadi Bitch Samantha Lewthwaite Dead!

Stupid Jihadi Bitch Samantha Lewthwaite Dead!

Everyone Wave Buh Bye to @HSM_Superstars

Everyone Wave Buh Bye to @HSM_Superstars

Muslim Brotherhood Totally 100% Banned!

Muslim Brotherhood Totally 100% Banned!

Shabaab squad from Kisauni returns home

Five Kenyan youth from Mombasa were on Saturday arrested on their way to join the al Shabaab in Somalia. Multiple police sources said the five, who come from Kisauni and Majengo, were arrested in Kismayu by Somalia authorities and handed over to Kenya security agencies in Garissa town. A family member of one of the suspects said he disappeared two weeks ago after he was “brainwashed” and recruited into al Shabaab The relative said he had been attending prayers at the Masjid Musa mosque in Majengo. The mosque is linked with slain Muslim cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo. - See more at: more

Nairobi shopping mall attack: 10 things to know about Al-Shabaab

Here are 10 things to know about al-Shabaab, the Somali Islamic extremist group that has claimed responsibility for the attack on Kenya's premier shopping mall that killed dozens of civilians.

Somali President Hassan Shekh Mohamoud most corrupt leader in Africa and Jihadi Apologists - Somali Muslim Brotherhood (dum jadiid Party) met huge demonstration

Somali President Hassan Shekh Mohamoud most corrupt leader in Africa and Jihadi Apologists - Somali Muslim Brotherhood (dum jadiid Party)Hassan Sheikh Mohamud President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Meets With John McCain update

 

Breaking News: Ohio Update - President Hassan Sh. Mohamud of Somalia met huge demonstration against his government. The demonstrators speaking in Somalia are shouting "Alshabab Down! Mogadishu President Down!shabaab   Damul Jadiid Down A well organized demonstration that rocked Ohio state. Khaatumo State of Somalia community leaders are invisising that "this president doesn't represent the people of Somalia but represent people of Mogadishu". Other people are shouting Jihadi Apologists down - Somali Muslim Brotherhood down ..President Hassan is responsible of the fighting that took place in Kismayo against will of the people of Jubba State. People are also angry of of how he has changed the Federal Constitution without due process. The anger and dissatisfaction against President Hassan is something that has been growing ever since he started fighting with Jubbaland Adminstration.

People of Khatumo, Jubba & Puntland State repeatedly presented how dissatisfied they are with the man they termed "Mogadishu President" a Governer... and not a National President.

They applauded of the international community's interest of how they want to see betrter Sosmalia, but showed how this man with corruption, clan warfare as well as rape victoms is hard to bring Somalia. And the only way people of Somalia can go beyond this is the empletention of Federal government system where each region builds its local government from the bottom up with equal resouces and opportunities.

Rahm

terror free somalia

Muslims Storm Kenyan Mall; Target Non-Muslims: UPDATE -- Dozens Dead, Over a Hundred Wounded (BUMPED)

Muslims Storm Kenyan Mall; Target Non-Muslims: UPDATE -- Dozens Dead, Over a Hundred Wounded (BUMPED)

Rep. Pete King: Beware rising threat from Somalia - New York Daily News

Al Shabab, the Somalian terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the bloody attack on a Kenyan shopping mall this weekend, is a major threat to the United States, Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) said Sunday in an interview with “This Week” on ABC.

Read more:

Somali terror group has 20 American members, prone to strike outside Somalia

Investigative Producer, NBC News

The Somali terror group that stormed a Kenyan mall, killing more than 60 people, has a larger U.S. contingent than any other al Qaeda offshoot, said U.S. officials, and is now more prone to mount deadly attacks on targets outside Somalia.

Al Shabaab's attacks on foreign targets include an attempt to kill a U.S. congressman visiting Mogadishu in 2009. Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., was uninjured in the mortar attack.

Via Twitter, al Shabaab has claimed that five of the jihadis holding hostages at Nairobi’s Westgate mall are Americans, and provided names for individuals from Minneapolis, Kansas City, Maine and Arizona.

Senior officials said that U.S. law enforcement has run the list of U.S. persons who were named on Twitter as involved in the Kenya mall attack against the list of U.S. persons known to be affiliated with Al Shabaab. They have found no match at this time...more

America’s “Little Mogadishus” Produced 3 of the Kenya Al Qaeda Terrorists | FrontPage Magazine

America’s “Little Mogadishus” Produced 3 of the Kenya Al Qaeda Terrorists | FrontPage Magazine

Kenya Terror Attack: Al-Shabaab releases names and nationalities of attackers - from Somalia, Finland, USA, UK

The Somali terror group Al-Shabaab attacks a Kenyan shopping center, killing scores of civilians. Among the attackers are several Jihadists from Western countries, including Britain and the United States.

 

The Westgate Shopping Mall in Northern Nairobi is a popular place for middle class and upper class Kenyans as well as tourists and foreigners living in the East African country. On Saturday this place became a war zone. A group of Islamist fighters from the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab stormed the shopping mall, taking several dozen hostages and killing at least 65 people, among them French, British and Dutch citizens.

While the terrorists were selecting only the non-muslims, Muslim shoppers were allowed to leave the scene as Westgate turned into a place of Jihad. The Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahidin Movement claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was retaliation for Kenya´s involvement in the Somali conflict in recent years.

The hostage situation is still going on with a unknown number of people still trapped inside Westgate and Kenyan police and military in the area.

Meanwhile Al-Shabaab released the names and places of origin of the alleged terrorist involved in the Westgate assault. It is no surprise the terror raid was carried out by a international terrorist cell of at least eight Al-Shabaab fighters.

According to the terrorist group the attackers all between the age of 20 and 27 years old, are from five different countries and where all trained in Somalia.

Sayid Nuh 25 yrs. from Kismayu, Somalia.

Zaki Jama arale 20yrs. from Hargeisa, Somalia

Said D., from Damascus, Syria

Qasim Said Mussa  22yrs. Garissa, Kenya

Ismail Gulad.22 yrs from Helsinki, Finland

Ahmed Nasir Shirdoon 24 yrs. from London, UK

Mustafa Nooradiin  27 yrs from Kansas City, USA

Abdishakur Sheikh H. from Maine, USA

Abdifatah Osman Kenadiid 24 yrs . from Minneapolis, USA

Ahmad Mohamed I., from Saint Paul, USA

Abdikarem Ali M., from Illinois, USA

Shafie D. from Tucson, USA

 will update this story when more information becomes available

Exclusive: Al-Shabaab - 'foreigners are not safe in Kenya'

Nairobi shopping mall attack, tells Channel 4 News "if Kenyans don't leave our land, we will wage a real war."

US and Britain condemn Westgate attack

US and Britain condemn Westgate attack