Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Jihadist group linked to pirates says it attacked U.S. Congressman

Al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (“Jihadist Youth”) is linked to al-Qaeda and advocates the strict application of Islamic law. It came to the fore in Somalia after the 2006 toppling by Ethiopian troops of the Islamic Courts Union government that ruled briefly in Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab now controls more of Somalia than the Islamic Courts Union did even at the height of its power, and its reach extends beyond Somalia alone. Some of the Somali immigrants who have been mysteriously disappeared from the Minneapolis area have been recruited for jihad by al-Shabaab, which has also attracted jihad fighters from around the world to join its efforts to take control in Somalia. And -- it is a recipient of the pirates' loot.

"Al Shabaab says behind U.S. congressman attack," from Reuters, April 13 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

MOGADISHU, April 13 (Reuters) - Somalia's militant Islamist rebel group al Shabaab said on Monday it was behind mortars fired at U.S. congressman Donald Payne as he left the anarchic Horn of Africa nation after a rare visit by a U.S. politician.

"We fired on the airport to target the so-called democratic congressman sent by (U.S. President Barack) Obama," Sheikh Hussein Ali, an al Shabaab spokesman, told Reuters.

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