United States Africa Command

Somalia claims it killed senior Shabaab leader

Somalia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced yesterday that its forces, alongside “international partners,” killed Maalin Jinow Ibrahim, a reported co-founder of Shabaab and a member of its central...

US refocuses air campaign in Somalia on Shabaab

Over the course of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, the United States has greatly increased its military strikes inside Somalia. Throughout the previous administration of President Joe...

Pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden are on the rise

The Gulf of Aden and other waters around the Horn of Africa are seeing an increase in maritime attacks. Since late April, Somali pirates have been attacking and seizing vessels at a rate not...

US, Nigerian forces kill senior Islamic State leader

The US military, “in coordination with the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” killed Abu Bilal al Minuki, a top Islamic State leader, and other unnamed commanders in an operation in northeastern Nigeria...

U.S. Must Encourage Nigeria To Adopt Preventive Measures Against Emboldened Islamist Terror Groups

Islamist terror groups are becoming a nationwide scourge in Nigeria. A massacre of an estimated 170 civilians in Kawara state in central Nigeria on February 3-4 demonstrates that the Islamist insurgency...

U.S. Launches Effort To Address Christian Persecution in Nigeria

The Trump administration has launched an effort to help protect Nigerian Christians. In response to escalating attacks by armed Islamists, Washington established a joint working group to offer American...

US strikes Islamic State in Nigeria

On December 25, US President Donald Trump announced that he ordered US strikes against Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria in retaliation for the group’s targeting of Christian communities...

How the Nile Water Dispute Threatens Counter-Terrorism Efforts

Egypt and Sudan are unwittingly playing into the hands of the Horn of Africa’s most dangerous terrorist group: al-Shabaab.

Somalia reports death of Shabaab co-founder in ‘precision airstrike’

The Somali government stated on Monday that another co-founder of Shabaab is dead. The individual, identified as Mahmoud Abdi Hamud, better known as Jaafar Gurey, was reportedly killed in a “precision...

5 Recent Instances of Foreign Malign Influence Threatening U.S. National Security

America is letting its adversaries win the information war. The latest blow to U.S. efforts to fight this war came in August, when the U.S. intelligence community learned of the reduction in size and reorganization...

How the United States Can Fight and Win in the Cognitive Domain

In May 2024, U.S. troops began withdrawing from Niger after the country ended a military agreement several months earlier that allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to operate from the country.1 A...

US ground raid captures Islamic State leader in northern Somalia

In a brief statement released on Saturday, the United States military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that its forces had “conducted an operation against the ISIS-Somalia terrorist network...

Shabaab seizes two towns in central Somalia

Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, took control of two towns in central Somalia over the past week. These victories in Moqokori and Tardo, both situated near the borders between the central regions...

Trump admin ups the tempo of airstrikes against jihadist groups in Somalia

The Trump administration is significantly increasing the rate of American strikes inside Somalia. In just the first three months of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has already...

Shabaab mounts coordinated assault north of Mogadishu

Since at least February 20, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, has mounted a sizable offensive in southern and central Somalia between the Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions. In some areas,...

Shabaab announces the death of senior official Mohamed Mire

Earlier today, Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, publicly announced the death of Mohamed Mire, one of the group’s senior-most officials. The jihadist group stated that Mire was killed in...

America Resilient in the Face of Aggressive Foreign Malign Influence Targeting the 2024 U.S. Elections

Shabaab retakes territory as the U.S. sanctions one of its money laundering networks

Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, is steadily undoing progress made by Somali security services in its nearly two year old counter-offensive against the group. Over the last few days, the group...

US launches first drone strike of the year in Somalia

The United States launched its first drone strike in Somalia this year on Sunday, reportedly killing three Shabaab members. Neither Africa Command (AFRICOM), the U.S. military command responsible for such...

U.S. offers $5 million reward for Shabaab’s deputy emir

The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Abukar Ali Adan, the deputy leader of Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in...