Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan

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...

November 1, 2023 | Caleb Weiss |

Shabaab claims several al-Qaeda leaders present during infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ incident

In a newly released video – touted as a documentary by Shabaab – the Somali jihadi group claimed that as many as 10 al-Qaeda leaders and figures were present during the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’...

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...

October 15, 2013 | Thomas Joscelyn

Anas Al-Liby’s Pakistan Qaeda Connection

The recent counterterrorism raids in Libya and Somalia highlight a fundamental flaw in the U.S. Government’s analysis of al Qaeda. A common misconception is that there is a distinct, fixed...

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...

February 12, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn

Al Qaeda’s Unsurprising Merger

Several years ago, I was having drinks at an Irish bar with an intelligence official. (Al Qaeda is always best discussed while drinking Guinness.) He had brought with him several pages of publicl...

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....

September 23, 2010 | The Long War Journal

US Official Explains National Counterterrorism Center’s View of The Enemy

In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee yesterday, Michael Leiter provided an overview of how his National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) sees the terror...

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...

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

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...

October 22, 2009 | Middle East Quarterly

The Strategic Challenge of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab

Since emerging from an era of colonialism under Italy and Britain, Somalia has passed through military dictatorship, famine, and civil war to regional fragmentation. In the modern period, America...

September 24, 2009 | World Defense Review

Putting Puntland’s Potential into Play

By Dr. J. Peter Pham In last week's column, I noted that the United States military and intelligence communitie...

September 17, 2009 | World Defense Review

Somali Instability Still Poses Threat Even After Successful Strike on Nabhan

By Dr. J. Walid Phares The United States struck an important blow against Islamist terrorism in the Horn of Africa earlier this week when, in the middle of the day on Monday, Sp...

August 25, 2008 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Al Qaeda-linked Shabab in control of southern Somalia

Map of Shabab-controlled regions in southern and central Somalia. The red ovals indicate major cities and towns taken over by Shabab according to open source reports. The yellow boxes...

August 3, 2008 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Al Qaeda’s East Africa operations chief escapes raid in Kenya

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed. Click to view. Senior al Qaeda leader Fazul Abdullah Mohammed escaped a raid in the resort town of Mandali in Kenyan, police stated. Kenyan police...