Tag: al Shabaab
Turkey deploys more forces to help in al-Shabaab fight
Turkey is boosting its military presence in Somalia by deploying 500 troops specializing in counterterrorism and drone operations in response to recent territorial gains...
AFRICOM carries out first Trump-directed airstrike on ISIS-Somalia
At the direction of President Donald J Trump, the United States carried out its first airstrike of his second term, targeting ISIS-Somalia operatives in...
Interpol operation nabs 37 terror suspects in eight African countries
Suspected members of ISIS and Al Shabaab were amongst those detained by Interpol and Afripol in a joint operation in eight East African countries....
Will al-Shabaab get stronger in Ethiopia? Two reasons why it’s unlikely...
There have been numerous reports of arrests of al-Shabaab insurgents, the dismantling of an al-Shabaab terrorist network and interception of arms in Ethiopia in...
Terrorist attacks multiply in junta-led countries
The number of violent events involving extremist groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has nearly doubled since 2021.
That is according to a Reuters...
As Somali troops expand control, al-Shabaab increases IED attacks
For more than a decade, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been the deadliest weapons terrorists in Somalia have deployed against both Soldiers and civilians.
Since...
Conditions worsen for Cabo Delgado IDPs amid waves of terror attacks
More than 542,000 internally displaced people (IDP) in northern Mozambique’s conflict-torn Cabo Delgado province face dire humanitarian conditions amid an insurgency that has raged...
AU’s ATMIS replacement force takes shape
Details are emerging about the new peacekeeping mission that will succeed the African Union’s current multilateral force in Somalia known as ATMIS when it...
Langley’s Africom East Africa trip highlights resilience, commitment amid ongoing terrorism...
US Marine Corps General Michael Langley, the commander of US Africa Command (Africom), recently visited Somalia, which he described as reinforcing the United States'...
New AU mission for Somalia: old problems, fresh solutions?
Seventeen years after the first African Union (AU) mission was deployed in Somalia to degrade the violent extremist group al-Shabaab, the country is set...
Al-Shabaab is 18 years old: six factors behind the Somali militant...
The United Nations security council unanimously voted on 15 August 2024 to extend the mandate of the 12,626 men and women of the African...
Somalia army vs al-Shabaab: as African Union troops leave, which is...
The African Union (AU) has gradually reduced its troop numbers in Somalia since late 2017, from a peak of over 22 000 to about...
US forces conduct precision airstrike against ISIS-Somalia, 3 militants killed
On 31 May, US Africa Command (Africom) carried out an airstrike targeting Islamic State in Somalia (ISIS-Somalia), in the area of Dhaardaar, about 81...
Report: Al-Shabaab extends reach with offer to protect Somali pirates
After a six-year lull in major attacks, Somali pirates in December attacked four vessels as international navies relocated from the Indian Ocean to the...
From global jihad to local insurgencies: the changing nature of Sub-Saharan...
For more than a decade the Islamist insurgency in Sub-Saharan Africa has seemed unstoppable. 2022 saw another uptick in jihadist violence across the continent.
Fatalities...
Inconsistencies are costing the AU Mission in Somalia
In September, a call was made for a technical pause to the African troop drawdown from Somalia, following the initial withdrawal of 2 000...
Somali President Mohamud aims to eradicate Al-Shabaab within a year
Somalia has one year to eradicate al-Shabaab from the country and end 17 years of war, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced in late November.
The...
Al-Shabaab hopes to recruit by celebrating Hamas attacks
It only took a matter of days for the Somali terror group al-Shabaab to congratulate Hamas for its deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
Al-Shabaab,...
Bell 412 helicopters support Somalia’s counter-insurgency efforts
The delivery of Bell 412 helicopters to Somalia's government has provided a critical boost to its counter-insurgency capabilities, marking a significant development in the...
Global Terrorism Index finds attacks down, but becoming more lethal
The Institute for Economics & Peace's (IEP) latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has found that last year, terrorism resulted in 6 701 deaths -...
ATMIS drawdowns do not mean support lessens
Troop and equipment drawdowns by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) will not affect ongoing operations against Al Shabaab in the east...
Attack on Kenya Defence Forces outpost confirms Al-Shabaab drone use
Kenyan security forces have increased their operations along the country’s 680-kilometer border with Somalia in response to recent attacks by al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab, which has suffered...
Al-Shabaab attacks surge in Somalia as ATMIS troops withdraw
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to wage “total war” against al-Shabaab, but the extremist group continues to launch brazen attacks targeting civilians...
ISS: Kenya’s rise in al-Shabaab attacks calls for localised solutions
In the past three weeks, over 30 security force officers have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in more than 10 attacks across...
Battlefield losses may result In Al-Shabaab cross-border attacks
In 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ordered a major offensive against the al-Shabaab terror group. With the help of African Union forces, those...
Reclaiming Al Shabaab’s revenue
Cutting off al Shabaab’s estimated $100 million in extortion-generated annual revenue will require restoring the integrity of Somalia’s compromised financial, judicial, and intelligence agencies.
Despite...
Al-Shabaab attacks in Somalia affect communities as far as 900km away...
Policymakers tend to assume that the effects of conflict are felt only where violence occurs. As a result, humanitarian aid, protection efforts or asylum...
US donates weapons, equipment to support the Somali National Army
The United States has handed over $9 million worth of weapons, vehicles, medical supplies and other equipment to the Somali National Army to support...
Al-Shabaab: sensational media reports about Kenyan terror attacks keep kids out...
Sensational reporting on terror attacks in Kenya is keeping children out of school, with dire consequences for their education and their futures.
That is the...
Al-Shabaab in Somalia has resisted military force: now is the time...
In October 2022, Somalia’s capital Mogadishu suffered yet another massive suicidal attack. More than 100 people were killed. Hundreds more were wounded and thousands...
al Shabaab Somalia attack branded cowardly
“Barbaric” and “cowardly” is the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) response to an al Shabaab attack on a transition mission in...
South Africa poorly prepared to deal with terrorism – report
South Africa’s security institutions are poorly prepared to deal with Islamist extremists and terrorists operating across the border in Mozambique, a new report has...
Multiple failures contributed to deadly 2020 Manda Bay attack in Kenya
Inadequate force protection, inadequate understanding of the threat, inadequate security force preparation, and problems with mission command were some of the contributing factors that...
Five reasons why militants are targeting Kenya’s Lamu county
The frequency of terrorist attacks within Kenya’s Lamu County on the border with Somalia has been alarming. Frequent kidnappings there were the ostensible reason...
Suspected Islamist kills two in western Kenya – police
A suspected member of Somali Islamist group al Shabaab detonated an explosive device that killed two people at their home in a western Kenyan...
Islamist car bomb attack kills at least eight in Somalia, officials...
At least eight people were killed in Somalia's capital on Thursday when Islamist militants launched a suicide attack on a UN security convoy using...
Somali suicide bomber kills well-known Somali journalist
An al Shabaab suicide bomber in the Somali capital killed himself and a well-known Somali journalist on Saturday, al Shabaab and the journalist's family...
Somali militia, former government ally, captures two towns from federal forces
A militia previously allied to the Somali government in its fight against militant group al Shabaab has captured two towns in central Somalia from...
Suicide car bomb targeting convoy in Somali capital kills at least...
A suicide car bomb killed at least eight people in the Somali capital on Saturday at a street junction near the president's palace, police...
Somalia’s Puntland sends troops to fight al Shabaab in neighbouring state
Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland said on Friday it had sent forces to the neighbouring region of Galmudug to help the military there push...
Tanzania says gunman who killed four people last month was a...
Tanzanian police said on Thursday that a slain gunman who killed three police officers and a private security guard on a rampage through a...
Al Shabaab attacks Somali military base, recaptures central town
Al Shabaab fighters stormed a military base in the centre of Somalia on Tuesday and recaptured a town it lost to government forces earlier...
Blast hits bus carrying soccer team in Somalia’s Kismayo, 5 dead...
An explosive planted on a bus carrying soccer players in Somalia's port city of Kismayo killed at least five players, a police officer said...
US military carries out first air strike in Somalia under Biden
The United States on Tuesday carried out an air strike against al Shabaab militants in Somalia, the first strike in the country since President...
At least 30 killed in al Shabaab attack in Somalia –...
An estimated 30 people died on Sunday when Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab group launched an attack in a town in the country's semi-autonomous state...
Suicide bombing by Somalia’s al Shabaab group kills six
A suicide bomber killed six police officers in front of a district police station in the Somali capital Mogadishu late on Sunday, police said,...
Improvised Explosive Devices are becoming a growing threat in Africa
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are increasingly widespread in Africa, with al Shabaab and Boko Haram largely responsible for most new IEDs being planted.
IEDs refer...
Ten killed in suicide bomb attack in Somali capital
At least ten people were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck makeshift kiosks in the Somali capital, hitting hours after al Shabaab...
At least 20 killed by suicide car bomb near restaurant in...
At least 20 people were killed and 30 wounded by a suicide car bomb just outside a restaurant near the port in Somalia’s capital...
Al Shabaab militants storm Somali jail, seven soldiers killed
At least seven soldiers were killed when fighters of the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab stormed a jail in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland...
