Shabaab defectors claim German jihadist is dead

germanJabha East Africa’s Twitter screenshot claiming Martin Andreas Mueller is dead.

Jabha East Africa, an Islamic State-loyal group comprised of Shabaab defectors in East Africa, claims that German jihadist Martin Andreas Mueller is dead. Mueller was wanted by the Kenyan government for his roles in Shabaab attacks in that country. 

In a tweet from its Twitter account, Jabha East Africa said: “Abu Nusaibah (the nom de guerre of Mueller) da bros [sic] who beg Al Shabaab to come to Islamic State. May Allah accept him.” The phrase “May Allah accept him” is commonly used in reference to a fighter who has been killed. Mueller’s death and his supposed defection to Jabha East Africa cannot be confirmed, however. Additionally, the video linked by the group to support the claim of defection is an old video of Mueller.

Last year, the Kenyan government put out a bounty of $100,000 for Mueller, who was suspected of being involved in several attacks in Kenya in recent years. Mueller was involved in an attack on a Kenyan military base in Lamu County last July. Eleven Shabaab fighters were killed in the assault, which was ultimatly repelled. One fighter who was killed was identified as British national Thomas Evans. Evans, who went by Abdul Hakim, claimed to join the jihadist group back in 2012, according to his mother. (See LWJ report, Shabaab claims to kill dozens of Ethiopian troops in southern Somalia.)

Some reports have also linked the Evans and Mueller to the deadly Shabaab attack on a Kenyan university in Garissa County. That attack left more than 140 people dead last April.

Caleb Weiss is an editor of FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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