al-Shabaab (militant group)
al-Shabaab is an Islamist militant group based in Somalia. It seeks to eliminate Sufism from Somalia and has opposed various Sufi groups. It is recognised as a cell of al-Qaeda in 2012 until now.[1] The official name of the group is Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Arabic: حركة الشباب المجاهدين). Its name is Arabic for The Movement of Youthful Mujahideen.
Some people who were in the Islamic Courts Union formed al-Shabaab in 2006 or 2007. Wahhabi ideas inflenced al-Shabaab.[2] al-Shabaab wants to create an Islamic state at the Horn of Africa, and to take part in a golbal djihad.
al-Shabaab controls parts of southern Somalia. In the area it controls, there is a strict form of Sharia law.[3] The group has claimed responsibility for various terrorist attacks including the Westgate shopping mall attack in 2013, Nairobi DusitD2 complex attack early 2019 in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya and the Garissa University attack which killed 142 people in April 2015.
Al-Shabaab (militant Group) Media
Al-Shabaab insurgents marching through Bay region during the Ethiopian military occupation (15 July 2008)
Over 200 al-Shabaab fighters surrender to AMISOM, September 2012.
Somali and Kenyan troops celebrate al-Shabaab's retreat from Kismayo Airport, 2012.
Suspected al-Shabaab militants in Mogadishu during a joint operation between Somali forces and AMISOM, May 2014.
Residents of Tortoro celebrate with Lower Shabelle governor Abdulkadir Mohamed Sidi after the town's liberation from al-Shabaab, June 2015.
Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, one of the earliest foreign fighters, seen planning an ambush against an ENDF convoy alongside Mukhtar Robow, the current religious affairs minister of the Federal Government, during the Ethiopian military occupation(15 July 2008)
American-born Jehad Mostafa is a senior al-Shabaab commander.
References
- ↑ Al-Shabaab joining al Qaeda, monitor group says. CNN. February 9, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/world/africa/somalia-shabaab-qaeda/. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ↑ Somalia rebel groups 'merge', in: Al Jazeera English, 25. Dezember 2010
- ↑ Jon Lee Anderson, Letter from Mogadishu, "The Most Failed State," The New Yorker, December 14, 2009, p. 64 abstract