The US military announced that it targeted Abdullahi Haji Da’ud, a top military commander and planner for Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa, in an airstrike late last month. It is unclear if he is dead or alive.
The Islamic State promoted a training camp and announced its first attack in Somalia. Islamic State followers have been ruthlessly pursued by Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa, as they attempt to gain traction in the country.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed today that the US targeted Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran al Qaeda leader, in an airstrike in Syria. Within hours of the bombing yesterday, jihadists on social media claimed that Abu Firas had perished. Separately, Cook confirmed that Hassan Ali Dhoore, a dual hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leader, was killed in an airstrike in Somalia on Mar. 31.
Shabaab continues its gains in southern Somalia despite large-scale presence of African Union troops.
An al Qaeda media operative known as Shaybat al Hukama returned to Twitter on Feb. 15 after having his previous accounts suspended. Hukama has implied that Saif al Adel, a senior al Qaeda leader wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings, is in Syria to lead the fight against the Russians.
The involvement of US special operations forces in the Awdigle raid and the heavy resistance put up by Shabaab indicates that the objective was to capture a high value target.
More than 150 Shabaab fighters are said to have been killed in a strike on a Shabaab camp north of the capital of Mogadishu.
The suicide assault was likely executed by the Abu Musab al Zarqawi Martyrdom Battalion. Shabaab routinely targets hotels in the Somali capital.
Shabaab’s leader in Kenya warns jihadists will turn the country’s flag red with “the blood that we will spill in Kenya.”
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa, has issued a statement claiming responsibility for a failed airliner bombing on Feb. 2. The group portrays the bombing as part of its ongoing war with “Western and apostate intelligence” services, but doesn’t explain how its adversaries in the CIA and other spy agencies were specifically targeted.
Over the past two weeks, African Union forces withdrew from the southern Somali towns of Marka, El Ade, and Badhadhe. Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia quickly reoccupied the towns.
The video, which was focused on the legality of providing protection and killing the non-believers, features two undated ambushes on Kenyan security forces. Additionally, the video also calls for attacks on Israelis.
The jihadist group has long targeted hotels in Mogadishu, as they are popular with governmental and African Union officials and foreigners.
Despite contradictory claims made by Kenya, the photo report appears to confirm a large number of Kenyan troops were killed in the attack.
Despite being pushed out of several of its urban and rural strongholds, the Al Qaeda branch continues to prove its potency in the capture of the African Union base.
The Department of Justice announced today that an American named Maalik Alim Jones has been charged with supporting Shabaab, al Qaeda’s regional branch in East Africa. Jones was allegedly a member of Shabaab’s Jaysh Ayman unit, which is responsible for launching attacks against Kenyan forces.
A US military spokesman touted the strikes that killed the three Islamic State leaders as “an example of how we’re able to decimate networks.”
The State Department has designated Emrah Erdogan as a terrorist, describing him as a member of both al Qaeda and Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa.
An American who fought for Shabaab in Somalia has reportedly surrendered to African Union forces. He turned himself in after swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State. Shabaab’s leaders, who remain loyal to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri, have been purging defectors.
The two leaders were identified as Abdirahman Sandhere from Shabaab, al Qaeda official branch in Somalia, and Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, from the Islamic State’s province in Libya.
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in Somalia and East Africa, continues to be a capable insurgent and terrorist group in the region.
The US State Department today announced a reward of up to $6 million for information leading to the whereabouts of Shabaab’s emir, Abu Ubaidah Ahmad Umar, who is loyal to al Qaeda head Ayman al Zawahiri. Five other Shabaab leaders now have rewards targeting them as well.
A new recruiting video released by Shabaab appears to feature at least two or three fighters from the UK. Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in East Africa, has a history of recruiting from Britain.
Shabaab continues to demonstrate that it can penetrate high-security areas in Mogadishu, even after losing many of its major urban strongholds in southern and central Somalia.
While most Shabaab attacks are located in the capital of Mogadishu or in the south, the jihadist group maintains the ability to launch operations in the country’s central regions.
Shabaab’s leadership has actively opposed the Islamic State’s expansion in East Africa. The Islamic State has made a major push via propaganda videos to encourage defections, but only a small cadre of Shabaab fighters has switched allegiance to the “caliphate” thus far.
Despite being pushed out of its major urban strongholds, the al Qaeda branch continues to be a potent threat inside Somalia.
Al Qaeda’s branches and allies have held or continue to control ground in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya, contrary to the narrative that only the Islamic State seeks to take territory.
The photos show Shabaab’s Sheikh Abu Zubayr Battalion again overrunning an African Union base in Somalia.
The Uighur jihadist group based in South Asia sent a message to the “honorable Mujahideen in Somalia” thanking them for the recent attack on the Jazeera hotel in Mogadishu.