At least 24 killed as Somali Islamists ramp up attacks

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Hardline Somali Islamists seized a town Wednesday and renewed attacks in the capital Mogadishu, ramping up an onslaught against newly-elected President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and his allies.At least 17 people, mainly fighters, were killed in clashes when the Shebab group attacked the northwestern town of Hodur and wrested it from the control of pro-government forces, witnesses said.A second day of clashes between government forces and another Islamist militia in the capital Mogadishu also left seven civilians dead.Elders and witnesses in Hodur, a small town near the Ethiopian border, said the fighting was fierce and confirmed that the Shebab fighters had captured the town."Many people died in the fighting. We counted about fourteen who were killed outside the town and three inside. People are reporting there could be more bodies on the outskirts of the town," local elder Adan Nur Muktar said.
A medic at Hodur hospital said the death toll from Wednesday morning's fighting was expected to top 20."We killed about 20 of them and destroyed two armed vehicles," regional Shebab commander Sheikh Hasan Derow told AFP.Somalia's top Shebab commander Sheikh Mukhtar Robow said Hodur, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) northwest of the capital, was now under his group's control."The mujahedeen (fighters) took control of Hodur and the situation in the town is calm," Robow told AFP.The Shebab, a former military youth wing of an Islamist movement ousted by Ethiopia-backed Somali forces two years ago, had carried out relentless attacks against the Ethiopian forces who withdrew from Somalia last month.In recent months, the Shebab have also launched operations against rival Somali factions and conquered large swathes of territory, leaving government forces in control of little more than a handful of blocks in Mogadishu.Fighting also resumed in Mogadishu between an Islamist militia and government forces backed by African Union troops, a day after some of the bloodiest clashes since the president's January 31 election.A total of seven civilians were killed by artillery shells that hit houses, witnesses said. Three more people were killed in northern Mogadishu, raising an earlier toll of four."I was giving lessons to the students when a mortar shell struck the school, killing a child and wounding four others," said Mohamed Adan Yusuf.The clashes were less intense by late afternoon, but sporadic fire could still be heard, an AFP correspondent reported.
At least 23 people were killed and more than 90 wounded in clashes in the violence-wracked Somali capital Tuesday.Fighters loyal to Hizb al-Islamiya (Islamic Party) aka cayr/habar-gidir wing of al-shabaab claimed responsibility for the clashes, which erupted after they attacked government forces south of Mogadishu.Hizb al-Islamiya and the radical Islamist Shebab fighters have intensified their battles against the government of Sheikh Sharif, a moderate Islamist elected president under United Nations-brokered reconciliation talks...more..http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090225/world/somalia_unrest

back to square one today
Dark Day .history of Somalia .January 26, 1991.Collapse of the somali nation( Key Plays)

Iranian jehadist leader meets Somalia talaban PM

Iranian jehadist president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad met with Somalia’s UN technocrat as premier in Djibouti on Tuesday promising that his government will give financial support to the curren jehadist Government in Somalia. It was the first and highest Iranian official that met with Somalia’s jehadist leadership as known in the history. The meeting followed state visit that Mr. Ahmadinejad paid to Djibouti where he signed a series of accords with the Djiboutian president Ismael Omar Gelle???.The two presidents agreed that the peoples of the two countries might travel without visas and other development projects???.The visit by the Iranian president in Djibouti was part of a tour in Africa to build and tighten the relations with the African nations.??

FBI: Somali Suicide Bomber Indoctrinated, Recruited in US

Militants Drew Recruit in U.S., F.B.I. Says
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said Monday that a Somali-American man who was one of several suicide bombers in a terrorist attack last October in Somalia had apparently been indoctrinated into his extremist beliefs while living in the United States...more.. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/washington/24fbi.html?_r=4
FBI: Somali Suicide Bomber Indoctrinated, Recruited in US
Where are young American Muslims indoctrinated to become mass murdering jihadis? In the madrasas of Pakistan? In al-Mecca's Salafist universities? Nope, Minneapolis:
The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said Monday that a Somali-American man who was one of several suicide bombers in a terrorist attack last October in Somalia had apparently been indoctrinated into his extremist beliefs while living in the United States.,..more..http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/196526.php

Heavy fighting starts again in Mogadishu

heavy fighting between Islamist insurgents and allied troops of the government and AMISOM has restarted in Hodan district in habar gidir area of the Somali capital Mogadishu early on Wednesday morning, witnesses said. At least 27 civilians were killed and about 120 others were injured in yesterday’s fighting in the capital and the sound of gunfire can be still heard around the fighting areas of the Somali capital Mogadishu.The fighting started after rebel Islamists attacked government forces in a Tribunka area in south Mogadishu, where government soldiers are based.Medical officials and directors of hospitals in Mogadishu confirmed about 120 wounded civilians were brought in the hospitals.Dahir Mohamed Mohamud, the deputy director of Medina hospital told Shabelle radio that about 90 wounded civilians were brought in the hospital.
Resident in Towfiiq district in Mogadishu said that a mortar shell had landed in a holy Quran school killing one and injuring nine others those most of them were young children.
At least 13 dead in Somali fighting
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090225/twl-at-least-13-dead-in-somali-fighting-41f21e0.html
Somali fighters attack peacekeeping base; 18 dead
http://ad.vu/cuqi

Presidential house under mortar attack.

Somalia’s Islamists Terrorist fired several mortars shells at the presidential headquarter in the capital Mogadishu as president Sharif Sheik Ahmed stay there, witnesses told Media.The mortar attack on the presidential house followed heavy ground battle between the Islamist militant groups and somalia talaban Government backed by the African Union Peacekeepers in south of the capital. reporter in Mogadishu confirmed that several mortar rounded landed inside the presidential compound but there is no immediate casualty from the attack.Reports say that the AU forces in the presidential compound did not respond to the mortar attack.Spokesman for the ministry of interior said they will take tough action against those who carried out the attack. “Islam allows you to defend against any one who is on assault on your self,” Abdirahin Isse Adow.It is the second time that presidential headquarter came under mortar attack since president Ahmed was elected in parliamentary vote in Djibouti last month.Sheik Hassan Mahdi, the spokesman for the Hisbul Islam (Islamic party)??? (shabaab hasan dahir aways wing) cayr-(habargidi)hawiye land)claimed the responsibility of the latest fighting erupted today in the capital killing more than 30 people and wounding 60 others, medical officers confirmed.Earlier, the rebel Islamists groups who refused the peace deal reached in DjibThe sound of gunfire can be still heard around the fighting areas. The Horn of Africa nation has been plagued by chaos and clan-based civil war since when hawiye Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATESM ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government Videos: Jihad Camp in Somalia; English-Speaking Recruits Most of the Terrorist are from Hawiye tribe (al-shabaab) The leadership is mostly sub-clans of Hawiye (Habar Gidir clan) With The Exception Of NEW Al-Shabab jehadist Leader Abuu Zubeyr jehadist from Somaliland. Accusations And Sheikh AbdiRahman Janaqow Reply OGADEN CLAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB2mnoXLoec&feature=related (ONLF )own hassan turki(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasan_Hersi) and Abu Mansur a foot soldier from al-Qaeda any talks with Al-Shabab which is opposed to both the TFG and the Union of Islamic Courts. most of Mostly Hawiye Insurgents are from Somali clan of ,Habar Gidir group (itself a Hawiye subclan). Hawiye subclan).-related storesSomali Taliban President,name "illegal alien Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke new somali prime minister, President names UN technocrat as premierhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7889330.stmSomali Taliban, Somali al Qaeda Agree to Get AlongNew jehadist president primed to practice sharia law ...wooowwww outi last year vowed to fight against the new government led by moderate ???Sharif Sheik.

puntland Criminals Smugglers send migrants overboard to drown

(CNN) -- Smugglers carrying a boatload of migrants forced their passengers to jump overboard in deep water off the coast of Yemen, causing up to 17 to drown, the United Nations said Tuesday. The 52 Somali and Ethiopian passengers in one of seven boats crossing the Gulf of Aden were made to jump after the smugglers spotted police and refused to sail closer to shore, the U.N's refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It said 35 people made it to land, six drowned and 11 others were missing presumed dead. Almost 10,000 people have made the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen this year. Forty-seven people have died, with 23 bodies buried and 24 missing at sea, the UNHCR said. Last year, more than 50,000 people crossed the gulf into Yemen. Many are fleeing the war in Somalia, but recent months have seen an increase in the number of refugees from Ethiopia. Yemen is a common destination for Somalis fleeing economic hardship and war because of its proximity. It is also an attractive location because Somalis receive automatic refugee status in the fellow Muslim country..more.. .http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/24/yemen.refugees/
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/14/af-somalia-021409/

UN reward... one of the masterminds
Somali Taliban President,name "illegal alien Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke new somali prime minister, President names UN technocrat as premier

FBI to Focus on Immigrant Outreach After U.S. Citizen Stages Suicide Bombing in Somalia

Domestic radicalization may be the newest front in the ongoing campaign against terrorism, a reality underscored last October when a man from Minnesota traveled to Somalia and blew himself up in a suicide bombing.Shirwa Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was radicalized and recruited into a Somali militant group near his hometown of Minneapolis, according to the FBI. He then traveled to Somalia and was driving a truck filled with explosives during an attack in northern Somalia, making him the first known U.S. citizen to carry out a terrorist suicide bombing, said FBI Director Robert Mueller. Several of Ahmed's associates, also from Minnesota and affiliated with a Somali militant group, have left the country and are still unaccounted for, according to federal law enforcement and counterterrorism officials..more..http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2009/02/24/fbi-to-focus-on-immigrant-outreach-after-us-citizen-stages-suicide-bombing-in-somalia.html

Somali transitional Government officers with jubbaland state army reach in Hudur town

HUDUR – More Somali government soldiers with officers from jubbaland state ,have reached in Hudur town in Bakol region in southern Somalia, Residents said that the officers accompanied by more government soldiers with more battle wagons were the former government troops in Hudur town who, they were trained in Ethiopia and returned back to the town.
Source said the government officials who reached the town had closed doors- meeting with other government officials in Hudur town and talked more on the security of the town .The trained soldiers from Ethiopia joined other government soldiers who were in Hudur town after the Islamist forces loyal to al-Shabab took over the control of Baidoa town, the former seat of the old transitional parliament and it is unclear whether they are going to remain there or not.

Zawahiri praises Shabaab's takeover of southern Somalia

Al Qaeda's second in command released a videotape urging Somalis to oppose the government of former Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, just one day after African Union soldiers were killed in a dual suicide attack in Mogadishu. The deadly strikes on an African Union base killed 11 Burundi soldiers and seriously wounded 15 more. Shabaab spokesman Muktar Robow took credit for the bombings and named the two attackers, claiming that "they inflicted heavy damage on soldiers at a church." Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked Islamist terror group, has vowed to attack African Union troops who are in the country attempting to restore order in the war-torn country. "We will attack the bases of the occupying forces in K4 and the airport until the last foreign forces leave our country," Robow said at a news conference at the end of January as Ethiopian forces pulled out of . The last major suicide attack took place outside an African Union base in Mogadishu on Jan. 24. A suicide bomber killed one police officer and 12 civilians after the bomb destroyed a bus. More than 20 civilians were wounded during subsequent clashes that took place between African Union troops and Shabaab fighters...more..http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/zawahiri_praises_sha.php
By Bill Roggio! how can we ever thank you enough for all you are doing

Death toll rises to 24 after fierce fighting in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU -Fierce fighting between government soldiers, African Union troops at one side and Islamist rebels killed at least 24 people in Mogadishu, witness said on Tuesday..Dahir Mohamed
Heavily armed rebels loyal to Hisbul Islam (Islamic Party) ?? shabaab habar-gidir wing ,ambushed government troops in Mogadishu's southern Taleh district, sparking a fierce exchanges in which at least 115 civilians were also wounded, witnesses said. The fighting was the worst since the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops last month and came a day after president Somali Taliban Sheik Sharif returned from Djibouti to Mogadishu on Monday. .Witnesses said four people died when a mortar landed on a building they were sheltering in km 5 area. A mother and her child were killed by a mortar shell in Hawl Wadaag neighborhood. People have expressed concern about the fresh fighting and called for the insurgents to stop the fighting.The sound of gunfire can be still heard around the fighting areas. The Horn of Africa nation has been plagued by chaos and clan-based civil war since when hawiye Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATESM ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government Videos: Jihad Camp in Somalia; English-Speaking Recruits Most of the Terrorist are from Hawiye tribe (al-shabaab) The leadership is mostly sub-clans of Hawiye (Habar Gidir clan) With The Exception Of NEW Al-Shabab jehadist Leader Abuu Zubeyr jehadist from Somaliland. Accusations And Sheikh AbdiRahman Janaqow Reply OGADEN CLAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB2mnoXLoec&feature=related (ONLF )own hassan turki(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasan_Hersi) and Abu Mansur a foot soldier from al-Qaeda any talks with Al-Shabab which is opposed to both the TFG and the Union of Islamic Courts. most of Mostly Hawiye Insurgents are from Somali clan of ,Habar Gidir group (itself a Hawiye subclan). Hawiye subclan).-related storesSomali Taliban President,name "illegal alien Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke new somali prime minister, President names UN technocrat as premierhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7889330.stmSomali Taliban, Somali al Qaeda Agree to Get AlongNew jehadist president primed to practice sharia law ...wooowwww

FBI Director Warns of Terror Attacks on U.S. Cities

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III today warned that extremists “with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons” to sow terror, raising the specter that recent attacks in Mumbai that killed 170 people last year could embolden terrorists seeking to attack U.S. cities.
At a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Mueller said that the bureau is expanding its focus beyond al-Qaeda and into splinter groups, radicals who try to enter the country through the visa waiver program and “home-grown terrorists.”
“The universe of crime and terrorism stretches out infinitely before us, and we too are working to find what we believe to be out there but cannot always see,” Mueller said.
One particular concern, the FBI director said, springs from the country’s background as a “nation of immigrants.” Federal officials worry about pockets of possible radicals among melting-pot communities in the United States such as Seattle, San Diego, Miami or New York..more..http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2009/02/23/fbi-director-warns-of-terror-attacks-on-us-cities/

FBI chief: Suicide bomber indoctrinated in Minnesota

Shirwa Ahmed, the first known suicide bomber with U.S. citizenship, apparently was indoctrinated in Minnesota, FBI Director Robert Mueller said...more..http://www.startribune.com/local/40202352.html

FBI: Mpls. man likely first U.S. citizen suicide bomber

The FBI now says a Minneapolis man may have been the first U.S. citizen to carry out a terrorist suicide bombing.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said Monday, Shirwa Ahmed, who killed himself in an attack in Somalia in October, was recruited in the United States, specifically in Minnesota.
Mueller spoke in front of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In November, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS broke the story of young Somali men, missing from the Twin Cities and their possible connection to Ahmed.
Several months ago, the FBI and Justice Department began investigating cases of men of Somali descent who returned to Somali to join the conflict between an Islamic militant group and Ethiopian and African Union troops. The agency confirmed to ABC News that some of the men returned to the U.S. after fighting in Somalia...more.http://kstp.com/news/stories/S801854.shtml?cat=1

FBI director raises Minneapolis terror connection

The head of the FBI says a Minnesota Somali man, who blew himself up in Somalia last year, was "radicalized" in Minnesota.
"A man from Minneapolis became what we believe to be the first U.S. citizen to carry out a terrorist suicide bombing," Robert Mueller said of Shirwa Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen.
According to ABC News, Mueller did not say who or how the Minneapolis man was recruited.
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials have confirmed to ABC News that some of the individuals who have fought in Somalia have returned to the United States. The FBI has looked at possible cases in Minneapolis; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Seattle; San Diego; and Washington, D.C.
In a question and answer session moderated by ABC News' Terry Moran after his speech, Mueller said about Ahmed, "We believe he was recruited here in the United States and that others may have been radicalized."
Mueller said cities like Minneapolis are at risk because of failed third-world states. "World politics often shape terrorist and criminal threats against the United States... A crisis in the Horn of Africa may well have a ripple effect in Minneapolis," he said.
"It raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home, and, if so, what might they undertake here," Mueller said.
Up to two dozen Somali men have disappeared from the Minneapolis area.

UN chief strongly condemns suicide bombing in Mogadishu

strongly condemns the Sunday suicide bombing in Mogadishu which took the lives of 11 Burundian soldiers from the African Union contingent in Somalia (AMISOM) and seriously injured15 others.
Ban, in a statement issued here by his spokesperson, said that he is deeply saddened by the loss of life, and wishes to express his heartfelt solidarity with the African Union and with the government of Burundi which has shown commendable and steadfast leadership in Somalia.
There can be no legitimate justification for this and other recent attacks targeting AU forces that are deployed with the sole purpose of helping the Somali people bring peace and security to their country, the statement said. .more..http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/24/content_10880717.htm
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Al-Shabaab_and_AU_peacekeepers_clash_in_Somalia?curid=121464

Somali talaban president meets with Islamic wahabi clerics

MOGADIHSU-Somalia’s telaban president Sheik Sheik Ahmed has met Tuesday with Islamic clerics who have been mediating between the government and the Islamist opposition in Mogadishu. Somali Taliban Sheik Sharif relocated from Djibouti to Mogadishu on Monday. Sheik Mohamed Osman, a member of the Islamic clerics from the Muslim world said they discussed with the president the easiest that can be dealt with the differences between the government and the opposition. Sheik Osman said the president assured them he was ready to talk with the opposition. The spokesman of al-Shabaab faction said earlier they would talk with the clerics and would listen to their agenda.
The wahabi clerics are demanding from the government to impose Islamic Law to the country. Some 200 Islamic clerics called for the Somali government to Impose Sharia Law and tell the African Union troops to leave the country with in 120 days. Since 1991, HAWIYE Warlordism".TERRORISM. PIRATESM ,TRIBILISM Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

Somalia's Shabaab vows more attacks on African troops

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's hardline Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab pledged Monday to launch more attacks on African Union peacekeepers after the deadliest strike yet killed at least 11 soldiers from Burundi.
"This is our land and you are non-believers," said a statement on a website used by the militants, who are fighting the Somali government and a 3,500-strong AU peacekeeping force...more..http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE51M4TP20090223?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

related stores

Al-Qaeda to Somalis: "Aim your arrows towards them [infidels, apostates, et al]...direct your battles against them and intensify your campaign against

hawiye Terrorist man who attacked peacekeeping base had access

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A suicide bomber who attacked an African Union peacekeeping base in the Somali capital was a local who regularly delivered supplies to the soldiers inside, an official said Monday.Eleven Burundian soldiers were killed in the attack Sunday in Mogadishu, for which an extremist Islamic group called al-Shabab has claimed responsibility. It was the deadliest attack on African Union forces during the two-year deployment in Somalia, Geofrey Mugumya, director of the African Union's Peace and Security Department, said Monday.
The suicide bomber was a Somali contractor who delivered supplies and had easy access to the base, Mugumya said."When soldiers converged to get the supplies as usual, then the bomb was detonated," Mugumya said.Mugumya, a Ugandan diplomat, said two Somalis were in the vehicle. He said the African Union will investigate the attack and the peacekeeping force will be more vigilant.In Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Nicolas Bwakira, the union's envoy to Somalia, said 22 soldiers have been killed in Somalia to , Since 1991, HAWIYE Warlordism".TERRORISM. PIRATESM ,TRIBILISM Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central governmentdate...more..http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g7OaI4_kjeHA-o4UhlmP7vlWmrrwD96HDMKG0
pictures of suicide man.. from habar-gidir _hawiye, (usc\usc.sna\icu\shabaab\Islamist group of Ahlusunna all hawiye group )Terror Sympathizers websidehttp://www.waagacusub.com/news/23.02.09.6khawaarij.htm

they Posted the the picture with in 3 minutes?? my Questions.is What is the conection between them ?? they Closely Affiliated with Shabelle Media Network.. is own by Same People , and another one call mareeg . we call it shabaab media... Mainstream Media Mainstream use them as Source..including CNN.

we talk about this issue before ..
http://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2009/01/habar-gidir-own-radio-shabeele-total.html
history of somali hawiye jihadist Al-Itihaad al-Islami to Al Shabaab, the Islamist militant group active in Somalia, is tied closely to al Qaeda

Video: From Kabul to Mogadishu

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5172898778778125623

Video: Full Zawahiri Video "From Kabul to Mogadishu"

Think there isn't a connection between Afghanistan and Somalia? Think again.
The latest propaganda from al Qaeda's #2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is embedded below. Thanks to Laura Mansfield for the heads up and for Howie for embedding it. Laura has the video transcribed for members. This video is different from other recent al Qaeda videos which attempt to focus jihadi attention on the Horn of Africa only inasmuch as it is subtitled. In it Zawahiri can be heard praising their Somali affiliate, the al Shabaab Youth Mujahdeen Movement, for fighting the infidels and for instituting Islamic law. He also praises the group's refusal to cooperate with the so-called "moderate Islamists" of the new "government". The government which controls no territory and is pretty much in exile, just like the previous government. As we've been constantly reminding every one, Somalia is the new Afghanistan. It is a country where large swaths are now controlled by al Qaeda allies. Training camps will only be the beginning. video below. Ooops, video should be up in the next few minutes. Just waiting for Howie to reset the preferences on it. Here's a link to the video in the meantime.
In related news, the Shabaab who are the stars of the video, killed 11 African Union peacekeepers as they attended church on Sunday. Their "crime"? Attending church.

more. commentary, and debate .http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/196496.php

Latest 'al Qaeda message' focuses on Somalia

CNN) -- Islamist fighters in Somalia have made significant gains in the country, according to the latest statement purportedly from al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.The 25-minute audio recording, titled "From Kabul to Mogadishu," focuses primarily on the "important developments" in Somalia, which al-Zawahiri called "a step on the path of victory of Islam."
CNN cannot authenticate the message, which was released on Sunday and was interspersed with television news reports and statements from various al Qaeda-linked commanders. CNN analysts who listened to the recording say the voice is consistent with his intonation and accent.
This is the third message from al-Zawahiri espousing the views of the al Qaeda terror network in 2009; the other two focused on Israel's recent military operation against Hamas leaders in Gaza.
In addition to Somalia, al-Zawahiri also addresses the situations in Yemen, Gaza, and Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Zawahiri praised Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia who recently seized control of Baidoa, where the U.N.-backed transitional government had been based. He warned the newly installed government, under President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, not to squander those gains by submitting "to American demands" and not abiding by sharia, or Islamic law. "I call on my Muslim brothers in beloved Somalia ... to not be deceived by those who agree to the secularist constitutions which vie with the sharia in its right to rule," he said.
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Al-Zawahiri also addressed the "awakening" in Yemen, where many suspected al Qaeda militants wanted in neighboring Saudi Arabia are believed to have fled. That group includes several former detainees of the U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The al Qaeda leader accused Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih and his government of being "servants and slaves" to the United States by allowing Yemen to be used as "a supply center ... against Muslim countries." "How can you agree to let the ruling authority in Yemen be the CIA?" al-Zawahiri asked the people of Yemen. Al-Zawahiri spent the last eight minutes addressing the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Gaza. His focus on Somalia and Yemen -- which accounted for more than 17 minutes of the 25-minute address -- is a departure from the topics of his previous messages. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen suggested that is a reflection of al Qaeda's recent losses as a result of U.S. missile strikes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border...more..http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/02/23/alqaeda.somalia/index.html?eref=edition