By Christopher W. Holton
Al Shabaab of Somalia and the entire horn of Africa is one of the deadliest Jihadist organizations in the world. They do not get as much scrutiny as they should because of the primary location of their operations, but it should be noted that Al Shabaab members have been arrested and convicted in Maine, Minnesota and California over the years.
They are perhaps most infamous for their bloody massacre of shoppers at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya a few years ago.
Terror Trends Bulletin has covered Al Shabaab for several years now. Here is our archive of Al Shabaab articles dating back to 2010:
https://terrortrendsbulletin.com/category/al-shabaab/
Al Shabaab made the news today by issuing a new warning when they called on their followers to carry out attacks on Israel and Jews around the world. Here is the primary message of the communique:
You are justified to spill their blood & take wealth of every Jew, they will find no safety, they are all targets whether armed or not.
This warning comes as Jihadists have apparently stepped up violence in Gaza and the West Bank in Israel with everything from a rash of knife attacks to rock and bottle throwing–so far.
Al Shabaab also reportedly captured a high-level Somali military leader in an operation earlier today:
https://www.enca.com/africa/top-somali-millitary-commander-kidnapped-al-shabaab
While African countries in the region have stepped up operations against Al Shabaab in recent months, the Jihadist group remains a persistent and dangerous threat as reported by the excellent Long War Journal:
Shabaab continues to remain a persistent threat despite being pushed out of its major urban strongholds of Mogadishu, Kismayo, and other large cities and towns in southern and central Somalia. It still controls large rural areas in southern Somalia, and uses these safe havens to launch large-scale assaults in the country, even with a major African Union mission present. Shabaab has also increasingly been able to mount attacks across the border into neighboring Kenya.
http://www.matthewaid.com/post/130807153691/al-shabaab-remains-a-persistent-threat-in-somalia
Here is a graphical depiction of Al Shabaab attacks in Somalia, showing just how active the Jihadist group has been. Note the attacks in neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti:
Readers may recall from our article on David Cameron last week that the UK is sending 70 British army advisers to Somalia to battle against Jihad there. Al Shabaab is well aware of the plan and has threatened to behead any captured British troops.
We wish the British troops happy hunting and know that Somali Jihadi barbarians are no match for them on the battlefield:
Terror Trends Bulletin 