The Latest - Somalia
Iran’s Extending Influence in East Africa
The Sudan Tribune reported last week that Iranian forces were preparing to train Sudan’s navy. The move was not exactly surprising. In the last few months alone... more...
US Posts $5 Million Reward for American Suspected of Being Zawahiri’s Emissary to Shabaab
The US State Department's Rewards for Justice program posted $5 million rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of two Americans who have served in leadership positions in Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia. more...
American Shabaab Fighter Urges Muslims to Join the ‘Fronts’ of Jihad
A previously unidentified American who fights in the ranks of Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, appeared on a videotape and urged Muslims to join one of the numerous fronts of the global jihad. more...
Shabaab Executes French Hostage Denis Allex
Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia and East Africa, announced today that it executed a French intelligence operative who was captured in Mogadishu in 2009. The hostage, Denis Allex, was the... more...
Shabaab Releases Photos of French Commando Captured in Failed Rescue Mission
Shabaab has released photographs of a French commando who was captured during a failed raid to free a hostage late last week. The French commando, who was initially reported as captured, died in... more...
Shabaab Kills, Captures French Soldiers During Failed Rescue Mission in Somalia
Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, killed one French commando and captured another during a failed French attempt to rescue Denis Allex, an intelligence operative who has been in the terror group's... more...
US Adds 2 Sudanese al Qaeda Operatives to List of Terrorists
The US government has added two al Qaeda-linked operatives who murdered a US diplomat and his driver in Khartoum in 2008 to the list of global terrorists. Additionally, the US Department of State's... more...
Omar Hammami’s Personal Dispute with Shabaab
Over the past week, a jihadist who calls himself "@abuamerican" and "Abu M" on Twitter launched into a tirade against Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia. Abu M, who describes himself as a... more...
Should We Invade Mali to Stop al-Qaeda? Look at Somalia First
The West is moving toward a military intervention in Mali, somewhat slowly yet entirely deliberately, due to concerns about al-Qaeda’s control of territory there. An October UN Security Council... more...
The Shape of Al Shabaab’s Post-Kismayo Attacks
In late September, African Union (AU) forces surrounded the port city of Kismayo on Somalia’s southern coast. The AU troops stood on the threshold of capturing the city from the al Qaeda-affiliated... more...
Zawahiri Says Raids on Diplomatic Facilities Were ‘Defeats’ for US
In a new audio message addressed to Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Ayman al Zawahiri cites the raids on US diplomatic facilities in September as evidence of American weakness. more...
Shabaab’s Godane Releases Eid Message
Shabaab leader Ahmad Abdi Godane (a.k.a. Mokhtar Abu Zubayr) released an audio statement on Saturday commemorating Eid al-Adha that was posted on the pro-Shabaab Calamada website. more...
Shabaab Threatens Britain Over Extradition of Abu Hamza al Masri
Yesterday the Somali terror group Shabaab threatened to attack Britain for extraditing radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri, who arrived in the US on Oct. 5 after being... more...
Omar Hammami Says ‘Friction’ Exists Between Shabaab, Foreign Fighters
A videotape of Omar Hammami in which he urges "commanders of jihad and the honorable scholars" to intervene to resolve "friction" between foreign fighters... more...
Reports of Al Qaeda’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Al Qaeda is returning to the shadows. The experiment by al-Shabab, al Qaeda's Somali affiliate, of attempting to govern a broad area in Somalia's south officially came to a close this... more...
Suicide Bombers Kill 15 in Mogadishu
Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in East Africa, executed a double suicide attack in a secured area in the Somali capital of Mogadishu today. According to Al Jazeera, at least 15 people have... more...
Shabaab Suicide Bombers Attack New Somali President, Kenyan Foreign Minister
Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia and East Africa, sent three suicide bombers to attack Somalia's new president and Kenya's foreign minister as they were speaking at a hotel in... more...
Kenyan Muslims Riot After Murder of Shabaab-Linked Cleric
Kenyan Muslims in Mombasa have rioted for the second day in a row after a Shabaab-linked cleric who was recently added to the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists was gunned down. more...
Shabaab Leaders Divided? Not Quite
Has a rift developed between Shabaab's top leaders over the group's decision to formally join al Qaeda, in the face of pressures from the Somali, Ethiopian, and African Union offensive that has seen the fall... more...
Detained UK Suspect Trained by Shabaab
An alleged al Qaeda operative has been detained in London after "crossing through the Olympic Park five times," the Sunday Telegraph (UK) reports. more...
Experts
Chairman of FDD, Fmr. Director of the CIA
Senior Fellow
Director, Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization
Senior Fellow and Editor of The Long War Journal
Senior Fellow
Visiting Fellow