NCTC director Michael Leiter testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Leiter’s testimony highlights al Qaeda’s close ties to other jihadist organizations.
Risk of small-scale attacks by al-Qaeda and its allies is rising, officials say
Prime Minister Sharmake resigned after a long-running feud with President Sharif. Ten people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu. Puntland police arrested the imam of the Salahudiin Mosque and another person in Galkayo for propagating “terrorist ideology.”
Al-Qaeda ‘expand into Uganda’
A suicide bomber entered the compound of the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu and detonated his vest after being shot by African Union troops; no casualties were reported. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam took over the Horn Afrik and GBC radio stations in Mogadishu.
A suicide bomber penetrated the first ring of security at the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu.
PM: Somalia to open 2nd front against insurgents
Fifteen people were killed and more than 50 were wounded in a mortar exchange between government and Shabaab forces in Mogadishu. A UN official called for the number of foreign troops in Somalia to increase to 20,000.
Somali pirates: eyewitness account of the threat to cruise ships
Britain facing a new wave of terrorist attacks, MI5 warns
Shabaab ordered three aid agencies – Mercy Corps, Med-Air, and Horn Relief – to be expelled from Mogadishu as they “propagated Western ideology.” Iranian President Ahmadinejad blamed “colonialist governments” for the violence in Somalia.
Somalia battles measure success in meters
Shabaab announced that it would hold demonstrations against the burning of Korans. Ethiopian troops entered Somali border towns to hunt ONLF rebels who entered the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland.
Network of spies threatens Somalia
Ten people were killed in clashes between Puntland security forces and Shabaab forces under the command of Mohammed Said Atom in the Galgala region. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam’s top leaders called for more attacks against African Union forces. Hizbul Islam forces destroyed homes and graves in the town of Lafole.
Five soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu. Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohammed Rage said that Shabaab’s Ramadan offensive has been successful. The spokesman for Ahlu Sunnah Waljama™a claimed his group has intelligence about Shabaab attacks in government-controlled areas.
Somali troops defeated a Shabaab suicide attack at the seaport in Mogadishu. A suicide bomber hijacked a fuel truck and entered the seaport, but failed to detonate his bomb.
A Shabaab suicide bomber hijacked a fuel truck and entered the seaport, but was stopped before he could detonate his bomb.
On Thursday, Joshua Foust published an article at PBS’s Need to Know that, though avoiding the term “constructive disengagement,” mirrors the arguments advanced by Bronwyn Bruton’s report for CFR, and those made by Fareed Zakaria in the wake of the bombings al Shabaab executed in Uganda. Though constructive disengagement is often advanced as a minor-league […]
Exclusive: Taliban and US get down to talks
Somali militants try piracy to fund attacks
Dahir Gurey Sheikh Ali Guled, a senior Shabaab military commander, was killed in fighting in Mogadishu. The government claimed 20 Shabaab fighters were killed in Mogadishu; Shabaab denied the report. Shabaab took credit for yesterday’s suicide assault on the Mogadishu airport.
Report: US must deal with domestic radical problem
A five-man assault team penetrated the first layer of security at Mogadishu International Airport. Two African Union soldiers and three civilians were killed.
A Shabaab suicide assault team penetrated security at the airport in Mogadishu; five Shabaab fighters, two African Union troops, and three civilians were killed in the attack. Fifteen people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu.
Fifteen people were killed in fighting between Shabaab and government and African Union forces in Mogadishu; Shabaab claimed it killed 10 soldiers and took control of a region in the north. Shabaab also closed down 10 healthcare centers in the Bakool and Juba regions.
Six people were killed during clashes between government and Islamist forces in northern Mogadishu. Shabaab vowed to soon eject African Union troops from the capital. The military’s top general was fired after tons of weapons disappeared from military installations.
The government claimed it defeated Shabaab attacks on the interior and education ministries in Mogadishu. The UN’s under secretary-general for political affairs urged the government to reach out to “dissident groups” to shore up its legitimacy.
Inside al-Shabaab’s media strategy
African Union forces established nine new bases in Mogadishu. Shabaab chopped off the hands of two men accused of stealing in Beledweyn. Hizbul Islam released prisoners from Afgoi as part of a Ramadan pardon.