The FBI told The Long War Journal that Jehad Mostafa is thought to be Abu Abdullah al Muhajir, the American who distributed aid at a Somali camp in 2011 on behalf of al Qaeda’s emir. The US also offered a $5 million reward for Omar Hammami.
Abu Ahmed al Amriki implores Muslims to leave their lives of comfort and wage jihad in Somalia, Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq, or the “Islamic Maghreb” — North Africa.
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“With the rescue attempt, France has voluntarily signed Allex’s death warrant,” the terror group said in an official statement. Shabaab later announced he was executed. The French intelligence agent has been held by Shabaab since July 2009.
Shabaab displayed the body and equipment of a French commando who was wounded and captured late last week following a failed hostage rescue in Somalia, and later died. The terror group also said the “fate” of hostage Denis Allex will be announced soon.
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French commandos from the General Directorate for External Security attempted to rescue Denis Allex, one of their operatives captured in 2009. The French said they believe Allex was killed in the raid; Shabaab denied the claim.
A recently declassified threat assessment authored by Canadian intelligence in April 2012 concludes that the al Qaeda network still leads the global jihad movement and remains the “primary threat.”
The American jihadist’s rants against Shabaab indicate a personal feud with the al Qaeda affiliate, and not a wider split between Somali jihadists and foreign fighters.
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‘Somali revenge attacks’ hit suburbs of Kenyan capital
Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia has broken its nearly year-long silence on the American jihadist who has claimed that deep divisions exist between foreign fighters and local jihadists.
‘Al-Shabab’ militants forced out of Jowhar
The al Qaeda-linked Nigerian terror group has carried out at least 19 suicide attacks this year. Boko Haram’s targets have included churches, mosques, newspapers, government officials, and security forces.
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A security guard reportedly killed the two suicide bombers before they could enter a restaurant in the capital.
“The nightmare that surreptitiously looms on British shores is bound to eclipse the horrors of 7/7 and 21/7 combined,” Shabaab said on its Twitter account.
In a dated tape, the American Shabaab commander appeals to influential clerics and jihadists to intervene to resolve tensions between foreign jihadists and local leaders in Somalia.
American jihadist struggles inside Somali militia