Somali authorities have announced the death of Abdullahi Osman, better known as Engineer Ismail, one of Shabaab’s most senior leaders. Osman was believed to be responsible for overseeing the group’s explosive engineering and its vast media apparatus. Shabaab has yet to comment on his alleged death. Read more →
On Monday, the Somali government announced the killing of Shabaab co-founder Jaafar Gurey in a “precision airstrike” that was likely conducted by the United States. If confirmed, Gurey’s death would make him the most recent senior leader of the Al Qaeda branch to be killed since Mohamed Mire in late 2024. Read more →
Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, claimed yesterday’s assault on Somalia’s Godka Jilacow prison in Mogadishu. The facility is operated by Somalia’s national intelligence service, representing a major intelligence failure. Read more →
Shabaab has reasserted its dominance in the Hiiran region in central Somalia. The Al Qaeda branch’s takeover of the towns of Moqokori and Tardo effectively completes the rollback of the government's offensive in those areas, which began in 2022. Read more →
By the end of March 2025, the Trump administration already launched at least 16 air and drone strikes inside Somalia. In comparison, the Biden administration only launched 10 strikes in 2024. Read more →
The Islamic State radicalized Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed 14 people in New Orleans on January 1. Subsequent investigations and arrests of additional alleged terrorism plotters by US authorities point to jihadist groups’ continuing propaganda efforts and the threat of attacks on US soil. Read more →
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, has mounted considerable attacks over the last few weeks in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions just north of Mogadishu. The group’s offensive is attempting to reverse much of the federal government's gains during the government's counter-Shabaab offensive between 2022 and 2023. Read more →
The United States and the United Arab Emirates are conducting airstrikes in northern Somalia in support of Puntland’s military offensive against the local Islamic State branch. Tracking UAE’s strikes in particular, however, is difficult. Read more →
In a rare assault, the Islamic State Somalia (ISS) tried—and ultimately failed—to oust Puntland Security Forces (PSF) from a PSF base earlier today. Nonetheless, the attack represents how ISS is growing in strength and capacity. Read more →
Shabaab announced the death of Mohamed Mire, a senior official who acted as the group's so-called "interior emir" and a member of its central shura council. Read more →
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced yesterday that longtime Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu was transferred to his native Kenya. Bajabu’s history presents an interesting historical look into Al Qaeda’s early activities in East Africa, acting as a reminder that the African Jihad, currently the global hotspot of jihadist activity, has been decades in the making. Read more →
On December 12, The Somali National Army (SNA) of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in Mogadishu was routed from the southern Somali town of Ras Kamboni by the regional forces of Jubaland, a federal member state of Somalia. This conflict provides Shabaab, Al Qaeda's branch for East Africa, an opportunity to consolidate and rebound from its previous losses. Read more →
In the latest issue of its Sada al-Malahem magazine, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) heaped significant praise on recent operations conducted by Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa. The article is another data point regarding the open support between these Al Qaeda branches. Read more →
In a coordinated, multi-pronged offensive, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, assaulted multiple Somali National Army (SNA) bases across southern Somalia’s Lower Juba region yesterday. Each side has claimed victory, with both releasing footage purporting to verify their claims. Read more →
Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been thwarted. Nonetheless, both incidents highlight the lingering threat of jihadi prison breaks on the continent and the importance jihadist groups put on such operations. Read more →
In May 2016, the Islamic State (IS) issued a eulogy for the infamous Sudanese jihadist Mohamad Makkawi Ibrahim through its weekly Al-Naba newsletter. The eulogy flew under the radar at the time but offers an interesting look into the career of one of the Islamic State’s first so-called “martyrs” in Somalia. It also provides an early chronicle of the Islamic State’s history in the Horn of Africa. Read more →
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, took responsibility for a suicide car bombing targeting Djiboutian and Somali troops at a military base in central Somalia yesterday. The blast was the 14th suicide bombing conducted by Shabaab so far this year. Read more →
Shabaab's video, which demonstrates its new so-called 'special forces' training center, is eerily similar to productions put out by the Afghan Taliban before it took over Afghanistan. Read more →
Shabaab continues to undo progress made against it in central Somalia; the United States continues to go after its financials and conducting periodic drone strikes against its forces. Read more →
In early 2014, as Muslim civilians were being massacred in Central African Republic as part of a cycle of violence between Muslim and Christian militias, al-Qaeda went on a full-court press in an attempt to foster any jihadist movement to take up arms in the country. These attempts, however, largely fell on deaf ears. As such, this offers a unique glimpse into when, and potentially how, jihadist mobilization attempts fail. Read more →
The Islamic State documents at least 36 clashes between its men and Shabaab, al-Qaeda's East African wing, between March and December 2023. Read more →
Three Shabaab members were killed in what U.S. Africa Command described as a "collective self-defense airstrike" in the Lower Juba region. Shabaab, Al Qaeda's branch in East Africa, remains a dangerous threat. Read more →
Ali Mohamud Rage, Shabaab's spokesman, says the al-Qaeda branch is willing to spill blood over the recent Red Sea access deal signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland. Read more →
The man reportedly traveled from Egypt to Kenya, where he planned to use Shabaab facilitators to cross into Somalia. The American citizen was motivated by his support of Hamas and desire to target the U.S. for its support of Israel. Read more →
Mahad Karate, a senior official and a deputy emir of Shabaab, al-Qaeda's branch for East Africa, again named several al-Qaeda leaders present in Mogadishu during the infamous 'Black Hawk Down' incident in 1993. Read more →
Abukar Ali Adan, the deputy leader of Shabaab, Al Qaeda's branch in East Africa, is a dangeorus commander who has led the group's military wing and has ties to other Al Qaeda branches in African and on the Arabian Peninsula. Read more →
Featuring many women and children, Shabaab's large protests in southern Somalia sought to put the current fighting in Israel and Palestine into the context of global jihad. Read more →
Shabaab congratulates Palestinian militant factions for their "victories" over Jews. This is not the first time Shabaab has interjected itself into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read more →
Shabaab denied "randomly" targeting civilians in its suicide bombings. This is a mischaracterization of the data on its suicide campaign. Read more →
At least 14 successful or attempted suicide bombings were reported in Somalia in September. This is the single highest monthly total since Shabaab began its suicide bombing operations in 2006. Read more →
AFRICOM has launched four airstrikes against Al Qaeda's branch in Somalia this month as it continues to provide air support for the Somali National Army. Read more →
In the face of delayed or stalled offensive action taken against it, Shabaab seeks to rally its forces. Read more →
Though Somalia says the raid was repelled, the major attack nevertheless came just days after a similar raid was conducted on a Ugandan military base in southern Somalia. Read more →
The massive raid comes as Shabaab is facing its biggest challenge to its rule and territory in over a decade. Read more →
The U.S. military targeted Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East... Read more →
Mohamoud Abdi Aden is the second Kenyan-Somali the U.S. State Department has placed a $10 million bounty on in the last week. Shabaab now has five leaders with $10 million bounties, the most for any Sunni jihadist group. Read more →
The U.S. has now placed a $10 million bounty on Maalim Ayman, the leader of Shabaab's military wing in Kenya. Maalim Ayman now joins the ranks of other high-profile Sunni jihadis around the world demanding a similar price tag. Read more →
Another hotel siege perpetrated by Shabaab in Mogadishu was ended by Somali security forces almost twenty four hours after it began. The al Qaeda branch continues to lash out against civilians in response to military operations against it. Read more →
Shabaab killed at least 100 people at the same place where it killed upwards of 500 civilians almost exactly five years ago. Read more →
Shabaab unsurprisingly framed the terrorist attack as retaliation for the current military operations against it across the country. Read more →
Nine individuals were designated by the U.S. Treasury Department while an additional five were also blacklisted by the U.S. State Department. Read more →
Abdullahi Yare was a founding leader of Shabaab, had a $3 million reward out for his capture, and is the first senior Shabaab leader killed in more than two years. Read more →
Shabaab faces one of the largest counter-offensives against it in recent years. However, to be successful, Somalia must also work to effectively hold liberated areas and not just conduct clearing operations. Read more →
The recent drone strike comes as the Somali National Army (SNA) mounts a large offensive against Shabaab in Somalia’s central Hiraan Region. Read more →
The Sanaag Region, a territory contested by both Somalia and Somaliland, witnessed its first suicide bombing yesterday. No group has officially taken credit, though Shabaab is widely suspected given its history in the area. Read more →
Shabaab's recent hotel siege in Mogadishu, beginning on Friday and ending early Sunday, signals the severe challenges that remain in combating the al Qaeda branch. Read more →
Since resuming military activity inside Somalia earlier this year, the Biden Administration has ramped up the pace of airstrikes in the Horn of Africa country in recent weeks. Since June 3, the US has conducted at least six airstrikes against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa. Read more →
New reporting has shed new light on Shabaab's recent incursions into Ethiopia. However, many perplexing elements remain uncovered. Read more →
In addition to recently striking two Ethiopian outposts inside Somalia right on the border with Ethiopia, Shabaab also launched a three-day incursion into Ethiopia itself. On the Ethiopian side, officials from the Somali Region have stated that Shabaab was attempting to assist an ethnic Oromo insurgent group. This claim is likely dubious but follows a clear historical precedent. Read more →
Zawahiri lives. The Taliban-Al Qaeda alliance remains strong. The leaders of Al Qaeda's branches in North and East Africa have assumed roles in Al Qaeda's line of succession. Read more →