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Shabaab targets Mogadishu with series of car bombings
This year has seen at least 32 car bombings in Mogadishu, which represents an increase in this type of attack. Shabaab has claimed the vast majority, which have killed or wounded at least 242 people.
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US kills 4 Shabaab fighters in 2 separate airstrikes
The US military has stepped up its attacks on al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa after the jihadist outfit has regained ground over the past two years. AFRICOM has targeted Shabaab 10 times since the beginning of June.
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US military hits Shabaab with 3 more airstrikes
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced three more strikes on Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, over the past two days. All three took place in Shabaab-held territory.
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AFRICOM targets Shabaab twice in southern Somalia
US Africa Command launched two “kinetic strikes” against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, today. The US military has targeted Shabaab three times over the past two weeks.
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US killed Shabaab commander in recent strike
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that its July 30 “kinetic strike” killed Ali Jabal, a Shabaab commander who led forces and conducted attacks in Mogadishu and the Banadir regions in southern Somalia. The targeting of Shabaab leaders has not prevented the group from regaining ground in the south.
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Shabaab ambushes AMISOM forces in southern Somalia
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) says that 12 Ugandan soldiers were killed in an ambush by Shabaab yesterday. The al Qaeda branch claims the casualties were much higher and a local official told the press that 24 bodies were carried away from the scene.
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US military kills Shabaab fighter in ‘kinetic strike’
One Shabaab fighter from the “Mogadishu Attack Network” was killed. The strike is the second of its kind reported by AFRICOM over the past month.
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Shabaab gains in Somalia due to ‘lapses in offensive counterterrorism operations’
Additionally, the US State Department noted that Somali security forces “remained incapable of securing and retaking towns from al-Shabaab independently,” and while not explicitly stated, hinted that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is failing.
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US targets Shabaab troops in ‘self defense strike’
AFRICOM continues to describe offensive operations against al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia as “self defense strikes.” The July 4 strike in southern Somalia targeted a Shabaab “troop concentration.”
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Shabaab details last week’s deadly assault in northern Somalia
The raid shows that while Shabaab is largely focused in central and southern Somalia, it continues to be a threat in the north as well.
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Shabaab suicide assault team takes hostages in Mogadishu restaurant
A Shabaab assault on a popular nightclub and restaurant in Mogadishu has left at least nine people dead and several others wounded. At least 20 people are still being held hostage inside the restaurant, according to local reports. Earlier today, a suicide car bomb detonated outside of a nightclub near the Posh Hotel leaving several people dead. Shortly after the blast, an assault team stormed the perimeter and entered a nearby restaurant. Somali police have stated that others died when the Shabaab militants opened fire on “stunned civilians who were sitting down for Iftar [a sundown meal breaking the fast for Ramadan].”…
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US military warns of Shabaab resurgence, strikes ‘command and logistics node’
While announcing an airstrike that targeted a Shabaab “command and logistics node” in southern Somalia, the US military warned of al Qaeda’s resurgence in the country and said it has “taken advantage of safe haven.”
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Shabaab overruns base in northern Somalia
Between 30 and 60 Puntland troops are reported to have been killed after Shabaab overran a base in the Galgala mountains. Fighters from al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa have successfully overrun Somali and African Union bases in the past and inflicted high casualties.
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Shabaab steps up attacks in Kenya
Over the past three weeks, dozens of people in Kenya have been killed by Shabaab in assaults and improvised explosive device attacks.
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Shabaab claims US is ‘Satan of our time,’ praises al Qaeda’s leadership
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, released a nearly hour-long video celebrating al Qaeda’s legacy and promoting its war as part of the global jihad. The group also advertised its “Mohamed Atta Training Camp for Martyrdom Seekers.”
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Shabaab spokesman calls on Kenyan jihadists to form an ‘army’
In a newly released video, Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Rage addresses graduates of a training camp for foreign fighters. “Many” of the graduates are from Kenya and, Rage says, they should form an “army that will conquer Kenya so that we may return to our families and relatives in a state of honor and glory.”
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Kenyan soldier held hostage since Jan. 2016 appears in Shabaab video
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, has released a video of a Kenyan soldier who was captured during a Jan. 15, 2016 raid on an AMISOM base in El Adde. The UN found that approximately 150 Kenyan soldiers were killed in the attack and another 11 were taken hostage. The jihadists’ attack in El Adde was “the largest military defeat in Kenyan history,” according to the UN.
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The US Intelligence Community’s newest assessment of the jihadist threat
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
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US soldier killed battling al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia
Five weeks ago, the Trump administration loosened the rules to give the US military a freer hand in conducting operations against Shabaab.
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Shabaab targets soldiers in Puntland ambush
The al Qaeda branch claimed a massive IED attack on a military convoy in Puntland, as well as shelling a military base in southern Somalia that also reportedly hosts US troops.
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Shabaab suicide bombing strikes near defense ministry headquarters
The suicide bombing targeted Somalia’s newly appointed chief of defense forces near the defense ministry headquarters in Mogadishu. At least 15 people were killed, but the Somali general escaped the assassination attempt.
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US military to actively target Shabaab in Somalia
The Pentagon’s desire to actively target Shabaab reflects the growing concern that al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa is gaining strength despite the presence of both AMISOM and US forces.
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Shabaab suicide bombing strikes near presidential palace
The suicide bombing, which killed at least 10 people, occurred just 150 meters from Villa Somalia, Somalia’s presidential palace in Mogadishu.
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Shabaab details deadly raid on Kenyan military base in Somalia
Shabaab’s deadly raid on a Kenyan Defense Forces base in southern Somalia last week comes just over a year after a similar assault left at least 100 Kenyan soldiers dead.
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Shabaab executes three alleged ‘spies’
One of the alleged spies was accused of working for the CIA and directing drone strikes on Shabaab officials for the agency.
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Shabaab suicide assault at Mogadishu hotel kills at least 28
Shabaab’s suicide assault teams continue to prove its ability to strike popular hotels in heavily fortified areas of Mogadishu.
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US launches ‘self-defense strike’ during raid against Shabaab
US Africa Command continues to describe airstrikes launched during offensive operations against al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia as “self-defense strikes.”
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Islamic State in Somalia claims capture of port town
This marks the first time the fledgling Islamic State branch has claimed control over a town in Somalia.
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Shabaab launches series of strikes in Kenya, Somalia
Shabaab continues to demonstrate its deadliness in both Kenya and Somalia.
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AFRICOM masks military operations in Somalia as ‘self defense strikes’
The US military continues to classify combat operations against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, as “self-defense strikes,” even though many of the incidents reported, such as the targeting of training camps and raids in Shabaab-held territory, are clearly offensive in nature.
