Posts Tagged somalia

Not Proud To Be An American? Spend Some Time In The Real World

From 60 Minutes:

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ISIS Attacks Mall In Minnesotta

From SOFREP:

Yesterday, a Muslim man, identified as Dahir Adan, dressed in a security guard uniform stabbed nine people at a mall in St. Cloud

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Al-Shabaab Attacks Somali Hotel

From CNN:

The attack began around 5 p.m. when a car bomb exploded at the hotel’s entrance, according to witness Aden Hussein, who said he was meters away from the hotel when the blast happened.

Gunmen then went inside the hotel, shooting people, Hussein said.

One of the attackers, wearing a belt with explosives, blew himself up inside the hotel, police Capt. Ahmed Abdi said

A few hours after the assault began, state-run media reported that security forces stormed the building and killed the remaining assailants.

 

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Containing Terrorsim With Small Forces

From Lawfare:

The United States is deeply concerned about the potential for countries like Libya, Mali, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and others to export insecurity—particularly terrorism, but also other forms of violence and instability. However, Washington is not willing to dedicate substantial resources to dealing with these crises, as it did in the counterinsurgencies of the 2000s or the peace operations of the 1990s.

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Gauging the Jihadist Movement, Part 1: The Goals of the Jihadists

Gauging the Jihadist Movement, Part 1: The Goals of the Jihadists is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By Scott Stewart

Editor’s Note: The following is the first installment of a five-part series examining the global jihadist movement. Part 2 analyzes insurgent and terrorist theory. Part 3 defines the jihadist movement and evaluates its various elements. Part 4 looks at franchises and grassroots jihadists and Part 5 scrutinizes the al Qaeda core as well as gauging the overall implications for security. 

Quite often when I am doing speaking engagements, client briefings or press interviews, I am asked questions like: “Given the events in Syria and Libya, is the jihadist movement stronger than ever?” It is a good question, but it is also one that is not easily answered in a five-second sound bite or a succinct quote for print media — it really requires some detailed explanation. Because of this, I’ve decided to take some time to provide a more thorough treatment of the subject in written form for Stratfor readers. As I thought through the various aspects of the topic, I came to believe that adequately covering it requires more than one Security Weekly, so I will dedicate a series of articles to it.

When gauging the current state of the jihadist movement, I believe it is useful to use two different standards. The first is to take jihadists’ goals and objectives and measure their progress toward achieving them. The second is to take a look at insurgent theory and terrorism models to see what they can tell us about the state of jihadist militant networks and their efforts. This week we will discuss the first standard: the jihadists’ goals and objectives. Next week we will discuss insurgency and terrorism theories, and then once we have established these two benchmarks we can use them to see how the various elements of the jihadist movement measure up. Read the rest of this entry »

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Arming Mechant Ships Results in Reduced Piracy

From Instapundit:

Successful hijackings off Somalia fell by half to 14 in 2012 from 28 in 2011, and overall attacks dropped to 75 from 237. Through the third quarter of 2013, there have been just 10 incidents, with two hijackings.

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BBC Reporters Told Not To Use The Word “Terrorist”

From The Daily Mail:

The BBC was criticised yesterday for not describing the armed jihadists behind the Kenya shopping centre siege as terrorists.

The corporation’s journalists have avoided using the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ in reports.

Instead, they described the terrorists as ‘Islamist militants’ or ‘suspected Al Shabaab militants’ – and only used the word terrorist in when quoting someone else.

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San Diego Woman Sentenced for Providing Support to Foreign Terrorists

From FBI:

Nima Yusuf, 25, received a custodial sentence of eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to provide material support to al Shabaab, a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today.

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The Expensive, Diminishing Threat of Somali Piracy

The Expensive, Diminishing Threat of Somali Piracy is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By Ben West

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has dropped off dramatically in 2012. Successful ship hijackings have decreased from 31 in 2011 (and 49 in 2010) to only four so far in 2012. Attacks against ships have also decreased, falling from 199 reported attacks in the first nine months of 2011 to 70 attacks over the same span in 2012 — a 65 percent drop. However, diminished activity does not necessarily mean a decrease in the cost of sailing around the Horn of Africa. Somali pirates occupy a unique position, which is right along highly strategic global shipping lanes yet outside the reach of any national power. For international actors, it is politically and militarily easier to try to contain the Somali piracy threat than to eliminate it. But containment comes at a high cost. Read the rest of this entry »

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Resurgence of al Qaeda

From RAND:

One significant trend is the expansion of al Qaeda’s global network. The leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in Iraq, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (in North Africa) have sworn bayat, or loyalty, to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and provided him with funding, global influence, and a cadre of trained fighters. None of these affiliate organizations existed a decade ago. But, over the past several years, attacks by these affiliates have increased.

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Evolution and Trends in Terrorism Tradecraft

Evolution and Trends in Terrorism Tradecraft is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By Scott Stewart

The terrorist tradecraft discussed in last week’s Security Weekly does not happen in isolation. The practitioners of terrorist tradecraft conduct their activities in the midst of other people — the authorities attempting to identify them and thwart their plans as well as civilians. Terrorist tradecraft also does not remain static. It is constantly evolving. These changes are prompted not only by countermeasures put in place to prevent terrorist attacks but also by advances in technology — a powerful force that can serve to either nullify old tradecraft practices or to provide new tools to the purveyors of terror.

Terrorism is an enduring reality. While geopolitical changes may cause a shift in the actors who employ terrorism as a tactic, terrorism will continue to be used no matter what the next geopolitical cycle brings. It is, and will continue to be, a tactic used by militant actors who want to confront a militarily superior enemy. Focusing on the tradecraft used in attacks and charting its changes and trends not only permits observers to understand what is happening and why but also provides an opportunity to forecast what is coming next. Read the rest of this entry »

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Charges for Pirate Attack on USS Ashland

More Charges for Alleged Somali Pirates Indicted for Attack of the USS Ashland

Aug. 8, 2012
– Norfolk

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Insurgency and the Protracted War

From STRATFOR:

By Scott Stewart

In recent weeks, insurgent forces in several countries have been forced to withdraw from territories they once held. Somalia’s al Shabaab, which was pushed out of Mogadishu in October 2011, was ejected from Afmadow on May 30. The group now runs the risk of losing its hold once again on the port city of Kismayo, an important logistical and financial hub for al Shabaab.

In Syria, the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups were forced out of the city of Idlib and Homs’ Baba Amr district in March. They also withdrew from Al-Haffah on June 13.

Meanwhile in Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been forced to retreat from towns it took control of last year in southern Abyan province, including Jaar, Shaqra and Zinjibar. The organization controlled the area it seized from the government through its Ansar al-Sharia front organization. AQAP was able to capitalize on the infighting that began in Yemen in 2011 and successfully diverted the government’s focus away from AQAP and other militant groups. But in February, the election of new Yemeni President Abd Rabboh Mansour Hadi allowed the rift created by the infighting to be slowly healed. As a result, a combination of Yemeni soldiers and local tribesmen, backed by U.S. intelligence and fire support, have been able to push back AQAP and Ansar al-Sharia in recent weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

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Al Shabaab’s Threat to Kenya

From STRATFOR:

By Scott Stewart

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, released a message April 23 informing U.S. citizens in the country that it had received credible information regarding a possible attack against Nairobi hotels or prominent Kenyan government buildings. According to the message, the embassy has reason to believe the attack is in the last stages of the attack planning cycle.

The warning comes as thousands of Kenyan troops occupy much of southern Somalia. Along with a force of Ethiopian troops, local militias and a contingent of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, the Kenyans are placing heavy pressure on the al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al Shabaab in southern Somalia.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Maersk Alabama Targeted A Third Time By Pirates

Pirates attempted to board the Maersk Alabama merchant ship for a third time yesterday.

From Wired’s Danger Room:

The container ship Maersk, you’ll recall, was the scene of one of the more dramatic pirate rescues in recent memory. After it became the first U.S. flagged ship seized by pirates in 200 years, Navy sharpshooters aboard the U.S.S. Bainbridge liberated Captain Richard Phillips with just three shots to end a five-day standoff in the Indian Ocean. That all happened on Easter Sunday 2009, no less.

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