Ahmed Abdi Godane

October 3, 2022 | Bill Roggio, Caleb Weiss

U.S. military kills wanted Shabaab leader in airstrike in Somalia

The U.S. military killed a senior Shabaab leader in an airstrike in a terrorist haven in southern Somalia on Oct. 1. Abdullahi Yare, the Shabaab commander who was killed, had a $3 million reward out for...

October 12, 2017 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Tens of Thousands of Syrian Rebels Poised to Regroup

Al Qaeda’s role in the Syrian civil war drastically increased after the al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) managed to take control of Syria&rsqu...

August 29, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Thomas Joscelyn

Rebranding Terror

On July 28, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, heretofore the emir of al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, ...

March 17, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Osama bin Laden’s ‘Bookshelf’ Reveals al Qaeda’s Long Game

When 113 new documents recovered in 2011 during the fatal raid on...

April 10, 2015 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

From Westgate to Garissa, Shabab’s Murderous Wave

Co-written by Nathaniel Barr  After the Somali militant group al-Shabab carried out a gruesome ...

January 5, 2015 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

US Targets ‘Senior Leader’ for Shabaab in Southern Somalia

The US military confirmed that its aircraft launched an airstrike against a "senior leader" of al Qaeda's branch in Somalia. "The strike took place in the vicinity of Saakow, Somali...

January 5, 2015 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Somali Government Reports Shabaab’s Intel Chief Killed in US Airstrike

Note: this article was updated on Dec. 31 to include the US confirmation of Tahlil Abdishakur's death. Somalia's National Security Agency said that the US killed the l...

October 29, 2012 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Gunpowder & Lead

Shabaab’s Godane Releases Eid Message

Shabaab leader Ahmad Abdi Godane (a.k.a. Mokhtar Abu Zubayr) released an audio statement on Saturday commemorating Eid al-Adha that was posted on the pro-Shabaab Calamada website. Here I excerpt...

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...

May 4, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Bin Laden Told Shabaab to Hide al Qaeda Ties

In August 2010, al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden sent a letter instructing the leader of Shabaab, Mukhtar Abu al Zubayr, to hide the ties between the two terror groups so as not to draw internationa...

February 12, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn, Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

‘We in MYC are Now Part of al Qaeda East Africa’

The Muslim Youth Center, Shabaab's affiliate in Kenya, said it has become "part of al Qaeda East Africa." The statement was made just one day after al Qaeda and Shabaab formalized their long...

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....

July 11, 2011 | The Long War Journal

Senior Shabaab Commander Rumored to Have Been Killed in Recent Predator Strike

A senior Shabaab commander who fought in Afghanistan and has close ties with al Qaeda is reported to have been killed in the Predator airstrike that took place in southern Somalia late last month...

June 14, 2011 | World Defense Review

Somalia Still Sinking as Eritrea Entertains Enemies

September has not been a good month in the sometime Somali capital of Mogadishu, even by the relative standards of a failed state that has not had an effective central government in the sixteen y...

February 1, 2011 | J. Peter Pham World Defense Review

Somalia in Need of New Approach Two Decades after State Collapse

Last week marked the twentieth anniversary of the night when Mohamed Siyad Barre, president of the last entity that could plausibly be described as the government of Somalia, fled Mogadishu in hi...

March 26, 2009 | Dr. J. Peter Pham Family Security Matters

Bin Laden’s Somali Gambit

Last week, al-Qaeda chieftain Usama bin Laden interjected himself yet once again into the ongoing conflict in the territory of the former Somali Democratic Republic. On closer examination, the mo...

March 6, 2008 |

Why AFRICOM is Critical for Our Security Interests


This week I thought it useful to update readers on developments with some of the stories that have been previously reported in this column.