Abu Sufyan al Yemeni is a senior officer who was responsible for facilitating the movement of recruits and operatives into Pakistan’s tribal areas and served as a conduit for communications to al Qaeda cells worldwide.
More than 45 people were killed after Somali government forces attacked Shabaab and Hizbul Islam forces in an effort to retake control in Mogadishu. Hassan Dahir Aweys said Eritrea supports the Islamist insurgency and few Arabs are fighting alongside Shabaab. The African Union has called for sanctions on Eritrea for backing Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.
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Renewed fighting between Somali Islamists, government
Four Somalis were killed during fighting between the Islamic Courts and Hizbul Islam in the town of Mahaday. Shabab held a press conference in Mogadishu to announce the appointment of Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage as its new spokesman. The Hawiye clan denounced the Somali government.
Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed was wounded in an explosion during a meeting on the outskirts of the Somali capital. An unconfirmed report speculated he was killed.
Shabaab leader Sheikh Muktar Abdirahman Godane was reportedly wounded during a May 18 blast in Mogadishu that killed 17 Shabaab fighters, including four foreigners. Shabaab killed three civilians in a mortar attack on an African Union base in Mogadishu and formed an Islamic administration in Jowhar. Government ministers and warlords have declared war on Shabaab.
An Ethiopian army force reportedly re-entered the central province of Hiran and set up a base at the Kala-Beyr junction. The Islamic Courts and Shabaab battled outside Jowhar; one fighter was reported killed. Shabaab raided and looted UN officers in Johwar.
Seventeen Shabaab fighters, including four foreigners, were killed in a premature detonation at a car bomb workshop in Mogadishu. Three Shabaab fighters were killed during an ambush by the Islamic Courts in the village of Ayn in Hiran province. Puntland police detained 15 pirates and seized five boats.
Shabaab and the allied Hizbul Islam are consolidating control of central and southern Somalia and are ousting Islamist forces loyal to President Sharif, their former ally.
Shabaab captured the strategic central town of Jowhar and is actively recruiting soldiers in the south. Shabaab’s spokesman said it will fight until the government collapses. The UN said it will not take over the peacekeeping mission from the African Union.
Sixteen people were killed as Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna Waljama battled for control over the town of Wabho in central Somalia. The Islamic Courts’ governor of Hiran survived two IED attacks in Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran. A curfew has been imposed in Beletwein.
The UN said there are more than 300 foreign fighters working with Shabaab in Somalia. The US accused Eritrea of “fanning the flames of violence” in Somalia. Sixteen Somalis were killed during fighting between Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca in Mahas and Wabho. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys rejected offers from the government to end the […]
Task force seizes pirate ‘mother ship™
President Sharif officially signed the shariah bill into law. General Said Mohamed Hersi, the chief of Somali forces, resigned and was appointed the chief of the president’s security detail. Shabaab leader Sheikh Muktar Abdirahman released an 11-minute audiotape railing against the government.
At least 113 people have been killed during the last five days of fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab said the Somali government is no longer Islamic and called foreign fighters their “brothers.” The US will provide African Union peacekeepers with $10 million in funding.
Battles rage in Somalia, world calls for calm
Somali government encircled by hardline Islamists
Ten Somalis were killed and 50 more were wounded during heavy shelling and fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab is sending weapons and fighters to support Islamists in Mogadishu. Sheikh Yusuf Indhoaade backtracked on an agreement to support the government and has turned his weapons over to Shabaab.
Twenty-five people were killed during heavy fighting between Hizbul Islam and government forces in Mogadishu. Islamists are attacking the homes of members of parliament. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have advanced in the capital, capturing the former defense ministry and a police station.
Seven people were killed after government forces attacked a police station in Mogadishu that is under the control of Hizbul Islam. Two ICU fighters were killed in a market. Fifteen Somalis were killed during fighting in the capital yesterday. Shabaab chopped off the hand of a thief in Kismayo.
Shabaab and pro-government militias are battling in Mogadishu. Former Hizbul Islam Leader Sheikh Amy and Yusuf Indhoaade vowed to support the government. Islamic Courts forces detained 40 Somalis in Beledweyn.
A Burundi soldier was killed in Mogadishu. A Shabaab spokesman said the group would wage jihad even after African troops left the country. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam are moving weapons into Mogadishu. Shabaab is destroying graves and airing violent films in Kismayo.
Shabaab and Hizbul Islam fighters attacked a compound run by Yusuf Indhaade, their former ally who broke away last month. Eritrea said it was “sick” of accusations that it was arming terrorists and said it does not recognize the new Somali government.
Eritrea sick of Somalia arms accusations
Al Qaeda-linked Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys refused to meet with Somalia’s Islamist president. “I cannot think of a reason to talk to Sheikh Sharif, who is being used to destroy Islamists in Somalia,” he said. A French naval vessel crew captured 11 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack the warship.
Soldiers from President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s security detail sold armed trucks to Shabaab. Al Qaeda ally Hassan Dahir Aweys said the international community will not allow an Islamic government in Somalia and called for an end to assassinations in Mogadishu. The government sees a role for Aweys in reconciliation. A militia attacked a Shabaab base […]
Three masked gunmen killed Sheikh Muktar, a Shabaab military commander, as he was sitting outside his shop in Mogadishu’s Bakara Market. The Shabaab commander was allied with Muktar Robow. Three Somalis, including a senior intelligence official, were killed in an hand grenade attack in Galka™yo in the semi- autonomous region of Puntland. The ICU claimed […]
Terrorists moving from Afghan border to Africa