Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki

February 18, 2014 | Bill Roggio |

Syria’s Jihadist Twitter Wars

In March 2012, Omar Hammami, the American jihadist who called himself Abu Mansour al Amriki and fought for Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, released a short videotape ...

December 12, 2013 | Clifford D. May

The Disinformation Age

Walter Cronkite, the great CBS anchorman from 1962 to 1981, was called “the most trusted man in America” — and polling supported that claim. He’d conclude his CBS Even...

March 22, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

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 i...

March 4, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

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 gl...

October 22, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

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 and Somali members of Shabaab...

June 8, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

7 Shabaab Leaders Added to Rewards for Justice Most Wanted List

The US State department has added seven senior leaders of Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, to the...

March 19, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Omar Hammami ‘Not Endangered by the Mujahideen,’ Shabaab Claims

Shabaab said that Omar Hammami "is not endangered by the Mujahideen" and that it is "surprised" by a video released by the leader in which he said he feared for his life. Shabaab denied...

February 9, 2012 | Bill Roggio, Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Shabaab Formally Joins al Qaeda

Shabaab and al Qaeda have announced their formal merger, according to a video disseminated online today and translated by the SITE Intelligence group. In the video, Mukhtar Abu al Zubayr (a.k.a....

December 14, 2011 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Jihadist Releases Bio of Yemeni al Qaeda Operative Killed in Somalia

A jihadist released a martyrdom statement for a seasoned al Qaeda operative who waged jihad in Bosnia, Dagestan, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia; escaped from a prison in Yemen; and tra...

March 15, 2011 | The Long War Journal

American Shabaab Commander Alive, Says US intel

An American citizen who serves as a senior Shabaab military commander and propagandist is thought to be still alive, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal, disputing a report from l...

October 18, 2010 | World Defense Review

Somalia’s New Prime Minister: Not Quite What the Doctor Ordered

Just when it seems things can get no worse for Somalia's dubiously legitimate, utterly ineffective, and wholly self-serving "Transitional Federal Government" (TFG), the embattled clique pull...

October 2, 2010 | The Long War Journal

New HSPI Report on Foreign Fighters

Yesterday I attended the launch event for a new report published by George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute. (Full disclosure: I am a 2010 Senior Fellow at HSPI.) T...

September 27, 2010 | The Long War Journal

Critical Questions Regarding The Role of Foreign Fighters in Shabaab

Earlier today I served as a panelist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's annual conference on foreign fighters, discussing the phenomenon in Somalia. The panel discussion was based ar...

September 11, 2010 | The Long War Journal

Is ‘Constructive Disengagement’ the Solution in Somalia?

On Thursday, Joshua Foust published an article at PBS's Need to Know that, though avoiding the term "constructive disengagement," mirrors the arguments advanced by Bronwyn Bruton's repo...

July 14, 2010 |

Al Shabaab’s Grim Milestone In Uganda

Bad as the twin blasts that rocked the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Sunday were—and with a death toll of at least 74, they represent a considerable tragedy—the overall carnage could...

July 12, 2010 |

The Homegrown Terror Threat

Homegrown terrorism has been much discussed on cable news channels and the op-ed pages of major newspapers in recent months. The attention is unsurprising. After all, 2009 saw more homegrown terr...

May 10, 2010 | Bill Roggio Long War Journal

American-born Shabaab commander releases recruitment tape

An American-born member of Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, has released a propaganda tape that is aimed at recruiting Westerners to wage war against their home countries and establ...

November 25, 2009 |

Western Terrorism Recruits in Somalia

On Monday, the United States unsealed terrorism charges against eight defendants for supporting a Somali Islamist group called al-Shabaab. While few lay people in Canada or the United States have...

November 4, 2009 | CTR Vantage

Al-Shabaab Recruiting in the West

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Madeleine Gruen, Sara R. Westfall Beginning in late 2007, dozens of young men of Somali descent disappeared from diaspora c...

November 4, 2009 | CTR Vantage

Understanding al-Shabaab

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Madeleine Gruen The advance of Islamist groups in Somalia is seen as a cause for concern by Western law enforcement and...