Islamic Courts Union

December 18, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

Jihadi history: Kenyan detainee transferred out of Guantanamo shows the extent of Al Qaeda’s jihad in East Africa

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced yesterday that longtime Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu was transferred to his native Kenya. The Ugandan-born Kenyan national...

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...

September 27, 2022 | Caleb Weiss |

Shabaab continues to lose ground in central Somalia

Over the last few weeks, troops from the Somali National Army (SNA), backed by clan-based militias, African Union forces, and U.S. air support, have steadily made progress against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s...

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...

December 16, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Is the Terrorist Threat Declining? The Use and Abuse of Statistics

Earlier this month, terrorism analyst Peter Bergen wrote at CNN that the declining number of...

January 4, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross The Globe and Mail

Should We Invade Mali to Stop al-Qaeda? Look at Somalia First

The West is moving toward a military intervention in Mali, somewhat slowly yet entirely deliberately, due to concerns about al-Qaeda’s control of territory there. An October UN Security Cou...

December 20, 2012 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Abu Muqawama

The Shape of Al Shabaab’s Post-Kismayo Attacks

In late September, African Union (AU) forces surrounded the port city of Kismayo on Somalia’s southern coast. The AU troops stood on the threshold of capturing the city from the al Qaeda-af...

October 23, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Shabaab Threatens Britain Over Extradition of Abu Hamza al Masri

Co-authored by Lisa Lundquist Yesterday the Somali terror group Shabaab threatened to attack Britain for extraditing radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri, who arrived in the...

October 3, 2012 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Reports of Al Qaeda’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Al Qaeda is returning to the shadows. The experiment by al-Shabab, al Qaeda's Somali affiliate, of attempting to govern a broad area in Somalia's south officially came to a close...

September 10, 2012 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Gunpowder & Lead

LIFG and Al Qaeda: A Response to Zelin

On Friday, I had a post at G&L questioning the field’s conve...

July 10, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Detained UK Suspect Trained by Shabaab

An alleged al Qaeda operative has been detained in London after "crossing through the Olympic Park five times," the Sunday Telegraph (UK)...

July 9, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

2 Eritrean Officials Designated for Supporting Shabaab

The US Treasury Department designated six supporters of Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, on July...

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...

February 22, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Shabaab Abandons Western City as Ethiopian Troops Advance

As Ethiopian forces continue to press their offensive in Somalia, Shabaab forces have relinquished control of a key southern city that has been under the terror group's control for three yea...

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....

January 25, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Navy SEALs Free 2 Western Hostages in Somalia

US Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six conducted a successful nighttime raid in Somalia to free an American woman and a Danish man being held by kidnappers in Somalia....

January 23, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

British Shabaab Operative Killed in Airstrike in Somalia

Shabaab said that a British national who was "from the early people who came to jihad in Somalia" was killed in a US drone airstrike. The slain operative was a senior al Qaeda leader in East Afri...

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...

October 31, 2011 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross The Atlantic

America’s 4-Prong Strategy for Somalia

After years of strategic drift in Somalia, the U.S. appears to have developed a new strategy for this battle-torn country. This four-part approach, which is based on our research and confirmed by...