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NEWS ABOUT: al-Shabaab

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Ex-US Soldier Busted Trying to Join Somali Militants

Md. man flew to Kenya in attempt to join al-Qaeda-linked group

(Newser) - A former US Army soldier is in federal custody for a half-baked plan to join al-Shabab militants in Somalia. Prosecutors say Craig Baxam, 24, decided he wanted to live under Sharia law and tried to make his way to Somalia from Kenya carrying a Koran and a few hundred dollars.... More »

Terror's New Home: Africa

Islamist network stretches across continent, taking refuge in Sahara

(Newser) - On Christmas day, a car full of explosives plowed into a Catholic Church in Nigeria, killing dozens of people . A radical Muslim group named Boko Haram proudly claimed credit, saying it was trying to kill Christians. As recently as 2009, Boko Haram was a local Nigerian group, bloodily crafting a... More »

Israeli Group to Twitter: Ban Hezbollah or We'll Sue

Letting terror groups tweet is illegal, law center says

(Newser) - Terrorist organizations banned in the US should also be banned from Twitter, says an Israeli legal group threatening to sue the San Francisco-based company. Shurat HaDin—which says its mission is "bankrupting terrorism, one lawsuit at a time"—warns that allowing groups like Hezbollah and al-Shabab to use... More »

Kenyan Bar Hit With Grenade Attack

Officials fear Somali militants to blame

(Newser) - At least 12 people were injured early today when someone hurled a grenade into a small bar in Nairobi. Speculation is rampant that the attack might be the work of Somali militants retaliating against Kenya’s incursion into the country last week, but so far officials are not publicly blaming... More »

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia

Official says they're targeting suspected kidnappers al-Shabab

(Newser) - Kenyan troops crossed the border into Somalia yesterday in an attempt to crack down on militants suspected in a rash of kidnappings, residents say. A Kenyan official confirms to the BBC the country’s troops are targeting al-Shabab, the Somalia group suspected of crossing the border and seizing four Europeans... More »

Kids Who Won Somali Radio Contest Awarded ... AK-47s

Third-place had to settle for grenades

(Newser) - A Somali radio station run by al-Shabab held an, er, interesting trivia contest for kids this weekend. Kids aged 10-17 were quizzed on Islam and al-Shabab minutiae (example: “Which war was al-Shabab warrior Sheik Timajilic killed in?”), with the lucky winner and runner-up both walking away with a... More »

US Expanding African Drone Network

New bases to target Islamic militants, pirates

(Newser) - The Obama administration is creating an expanded network of drone bases in Africa, which officials say will help the US target Islamic militants in Somalia and Yemen. A new drone base is being built in Ethiopia, and the US is already deploying drones over Somalia and Yemen from its base... More »

Obama Lifts Anti-Terror Rule to Open Somalia Aid

Aid workers can now pay off al-Shabab

(Newser) - The US plans to back off an anti-terrorism rule that’s stemming the flow of aid to Somalis plagued by drought and famine. The current rules forbid US-funded groups from paying “taxes” or tolls to terrorist groups, the Washington Post explains. That’s proved untenable for aid workers in... More »

40 Americans Have Joined Somali Terrorists: Peter King

Rep. King refuses to end Islamic radicalization hearings

(Newser) - Rep. Peter King says his controversial hearings on Muslim radicalization in the US have uncovered some actual radicals. As the hearings resumed today, King declared that 40 Americans and 20 Canadians have signed up with Al-Shabab, a Somali insurgent group with ties to al-Qaeda, the National Post reports. “We... More »

Starving Somalia to Get Famine Designation

UN agencies poised to add 'humanitarian catastrophe' label

(Newser) - Drought and food shortages have gotten so bad in southern Somalia that the UN is almost certain to upgrade the situation from a “humanitarian emergency” to a “famine/humanitarian catastrophe,” sources tell the Telegraph . “It’s 99% certain that tomorrow we will have to declare a full... More »

Somali Militants Used Minister's Own Niece to Kill Him

Al-Shabab threatens more attacks

(Newser) - Somali militants linked to al-Qaeda have taken credit for the suicide bombing that yesterday killed the country's interior minister, and the BBC reports that they used his own niece to carry out the attack. The teenager, who had been recruited by al-Shabab, walked unchecked past guards and detonated. Interior... More »

Somalia, Neighbors Begin Push Against Militants

Clashes erupt in capital, elsewhere with al-Shabaab

(AP) - Somalia, working with neighboring allied nations, has launched a coordinated offensive against al-Qaeda-linked militants that has seen fighting in the capital and two border towns involving Ethiopian tanks, officials said today. Kenyan troops were deployed to a border crossing. Dozens have died in the push this week against the al-Shabaab... More »

Somali Militants Execute Teens

The two boys were accused of molestation, spying, respectively

(AP) - Militants from Somalia's most feared insurgent group used a firing squad to execute two teenagers in public yesterday, say witnesses and officials. The executions took place in front of hundreds of people summoned to witness the killings in the capital. The firing squad was made up of five masked men.... More »

Somali Militants Execute Girl 'Spies'

Town ordered to watch teens' execution

(Newser) - A hardline Islamic militia forced hundreds of townspeople to watch as they executed two teenage girls for spying. Members of al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, walked through the streets telling residents about the executions by loudspeaker before the blindfolded girls, ages 15 and 18, were shot by a... More »

Muslim Who Threatened South Park Pleads Guilty

Zachary Chesser admits issuing threats, supporting terrorists

(Newser) - A Virginia man who threatened the creators of South Park for their depiction of Mohammed faces up to 30 years in jail after pleading guilty to issuing threats—and providing support for Somali terrorists. Zachary Chesser, 20, also admitted posting the personal contact information of people who joined the Facebook... More »

Brits Warned of 'New Wave of Terror'

Militants from different nations appear to be joining forces

(Newser) - Britain should brace for a "new wave of terror" as the threat from both dissident Irish Republicans and Islamic radicals rises, the chief of the MI5 security agency warns. Militant Irish groups—one of which has threatened to blow up banks in Britain and Ireland—are showing worrying "... More »

15 Killed as Rebels Attack Somali Parliament

UN: 20K more peacekeepers needed

(Newser) - Three government soldiers were killed and a lawmaker was injured when mortar rounds believed to have been fired by Islamic insurgents hit Somalia's parliament building yesterday. Government and African Union soldiers counter attacked and killed close to a dozen people in a mortar assault on a market, AP reports. Dozens... More »

CIA Pinpoints Yemen's al-Qaeda as a Major Threat

Expect more drone attacks in coming months

(Newser) - It looks like Yemen is about to get a lot more attention from the CIA. Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have front-page stories declaring that the US sees the nation's al-Qaeda offshoot as a serious threat to American security, perhaps even bigger than Pakistan's. The result... More »

31 Killed in Somalia Hotel Attack

Islamic militants sought to topple government

(Newser) - Two Islamic militants opened fire in a hotel in the Somali capital yesterday, killing at least 31 people. Six members of Somalia's parliament were among the dead. After firing randomly into the hotel, the attackers blew themselves up as government security forces approached. More »

US Charges 14 With Trying to Join Somali Terrorists

US citizens linked to al-Shebab

(Newser) - The Department of Justice has charged 14 US citizens with attempting to join al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shebab, sources tell NBC. Those charged include 12 from Minnesota, an Alabaman, and a Californian. Al-Shebab is the Somalia-based terror organization that recently claimed responsibility for two Ugandan blasts during the World Cup. More »

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