Shabaab Publishes IDs, Information on Slain Burundian Soldiers

Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked terror group based in Somalia, announced on Radio Furqaan that it has the identification cards of at least 10 Burundian soldiers who have been killed in Mogadishu. The statement is in full below:

Mogadishu, Somalia (12/12/2011) – In response to requests from some families in Burundi, Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen has decided to publish the details of some of the Burundian soldiers killed during the heavy battles in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

With lack of verification from the Burundian Army, family members of the slain soldiers have contacted Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen in an appeal to confirm the fate of their missing soldiers. Responding to the pleas of ten families in Burundi, attached here are the identity cards and a supplementary table detailing the full names, ranks, specialities, dates of birth, town, province, vital statistics, badge numbers, blood groups, and religious beliefs of the soldiers.

Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen also opens the doors of communication to all families in Burundi who suspect that their sons have been killed in Somalia and those willing to discover the fate of their missing soldiers. Families can file for a Missing Soldier Verification Request by forwarding the full name of the missing soldier to the War Statistics Office (WSO), quoting reference number BR/4539, no later than the 20th of December 2011. Contact details are listed below.

Attached:

10 images of ID cards plus 1 certificate
PDF sheet with complete soldiers' details
Contact:
Press Office War Statistics Office (WSO)
[email protected]

A couple of quick points:

• Presumably these soldiers were among those killed in October during a major clash in the Daynile district in Mogadishu. Shabaab claimed it killed more than 100 foreign troops, but the African Union denied it. Shabaab released images that showed scores of dead soldiers, all of whom appeared to be from the African Union.
• Note how Shabaab wants to viewed as a legitimate government entity, while at the same time poking at the legitimacy of the Burundi government for failing to release information to the families of the slain soldiers. Shabaab claims it is “responding to the pleas of ten families in Burundi.” Also, Shabaab lists the “Press Office War Statistics Office” as the originator of the statement.
• How is Shabaab able to maintain a Yahoo email address?