Between 30 and 60 Puntland troops are reported to have been killed after Shabaab overran a base in the Galgala mountains. Fighters from al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa have successfully overrun Somali and African Union bases in the past and inflicted high casualties.
Over the past three weeks, dozens of people in Kenya have been killed by Shabaab in assaults and improvised explosive device attacks.
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, released a nearly hour-long video celebrating al Qaeda’s legacy and promoting its war as part of the global jihad. The group also advertised its “Mohamed Atta Training Camp for Martyrdom Seekers.”
In a newly released video, Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Rage addresses graduates of a training camp for foreign fighters. “Many” of the graduates are from Kenya and, Rage says, they should form an “army that will conquer Kenya so that we may return to our families and relatives in a state of honor and glory.”
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, has released a video of a Kenyan soldier who was captured during a Jan. 15, 2016 raid on an AMISOM base in El Adde. The UN found that approximately 150 Kenyan soldiers were killed in the attack and another 11 were taken hostage. The jihadists’ attack in El Adde was “the largest military defeat in Kenyan history,” according to the UN.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
Five weeks ago, the Trump administration loosened the rules to give the US military a freer hand in conducting operations against Shabaab.
The al Qaeda branch claimed a massive IED attack on a military convoy in Puntland, as well as shelling a military base in southern Somalia that also reportedly hosts US troops.
The suicide bombing targeted Somalia’s newly appointed chief of defense forces near the defense ministry headquarters in Mogadishu. At least 15 people were killed, but the Somali general escaped the assassination attempt.
The Pentagon’s desire to actively target Shabaab reflects the growing concern that al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa is gaining strength despite the presence of both AMISOM and US forces.
The suicide bombing, which killed at least 10 people, occurred just 150 meters from Villa Somalia, Somalia’s presidential palace in Mogadishu.
Shabaab’s deadly raid on a Kenyan Defense Forces base in southern Somalia last week comes just over a year after a similar assault left at least 100 Kenyan soldiers dead.
One of the alleged spies was accused of working for the CIA and directing drone strikes on Shabaab officials for the agency.
Shabaab’s suicide assault teams continue to prove its ability to strike popular hotels in heavily fortified areas of Mogadishu.
US Africa Command continues to describe airstrikes launched during offensive operations against al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia as “self-defense strikes.”
This marks the first time the fledgling Islamic State branch has claimed control over a town in Somalia.
Shabaab continues to demonstrate its deadliness in both Kenya and Somalia.
The US military continues to classify combat operations against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, as “self-defense strikes,” even though many of the incidents reported, such as the targeting of training camps and raids in Shabaab-held territory, are clearly offensive in nature.
The Obama administration and US military leaders continue to attempt to hide direct combat operations behind the mission of advising and assisting the “counterterrorism operations” of foreign governments and militaries.
This comes just days after Shabaab recaptured towns in the same region after Ethiopian troops withdrew.
Shabaab claims to have captured two towns in central Somalia after Ethiopian troops reportedly withdrew from their nearby bases.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for the stabbings in St. Cloud, Minnesota yesterday. Amaq’s claim is similar to the statements issued after a series of attacks in Europe and the US.
Abdulqadr Mumin, the leader of the small cadre of Islamic State fighters in the East African nation, defected from Shabaab late last year. He is said to kidnap and indoctrinate young Somali boys to bolster his ranks.
The al Qaeda branch highlights one method of governance in the southern Somali region of Middle Jubba.
The attack on the Criminal Investigation Department in Mogadishu is the second complex suicide assault by al Qaeda branch in East Africa in the past week.
Shabaab says that the former MP was one of the drivers in yesterday’s double suicide car bombing near an African Union base.
The jihadist group has again reportedly recaptured the strategic port city of Marka. However, African Union forces have denied that they have withdrawn from the city.
While the claim cannot be confirmed, the German jihadist is wanted by the Kenyan government for his roles in several attacks in the country.
ODNI released some information on counterterrorism raids as part of an effort to provide more transparency on these operations. US intelligence claims that between 2,372 to 2,581 combatants and between 64 to 116 civilians were killed in 473 strikes in areas outside of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria since President Obama took office.
Al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa continues to demonstrate that it can penetrate high security areas of Mogadishu. Two members of parliament were among 13 people killed in the latest attack on a hotel in the capital.