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Al Shabaab
THE INSTITUTE (HTTP://MACKENZIEINSTITUTE.COM/AUTHOR/THEINSTITUTE/)
11/19/2015, 12:00 pm

Alternative Names:

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Harakat Shabaab al Mujahidin, al Shabab, Shabaab, the Youth, Mujahidin al Shabaab Movement, Mujahideen Youth
Movement, MYM, Mujahidin Youth, Hizbul Shabaab, Hisbul Shabaab, al-Shabaab al-Islamiya, Youth Wing, al Shabaab al-
Islaam, al-Shabaab al-Jihad, the Unity of Islamic Youth, the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two
Migrations

Location:

Primarily based in Somalia, although known to carry out attacks in neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Uganda.

Leadership:

The current leader is Ahmad Umar Umar (also known as Abu Ubaidah), he was named leader in September 2014 following
the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane in a US air strike. There is very little information about Umar.

Past leaders included; Godane and Aden Hashi Ayro who was killed in a US air strike on May 1, 2008.

Another important individual is Hassan Dahir Aweys. His relationship to Al Shabaab is somewhat unclear, however, some
academics have referred to him as the spiritual leader. Aweys has been involved in several different radical Islamist
organizations including Al Ittihad Al Islamiya (AIAI), which was disbanded in 1997, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), and
eventually initiated the support for Ayros leadership within Al Shabaab. Although described as the spiritual leader, Ayros
tactics following his appointment clashed with Aweys views. This lead to divisions in ideology where Aweys sought
nationalist goals and Ayro sought global jihadist goals.

Membership:

BBC estimates that the groups size in 2015 is between 7,000 and 9,000 ghters.

Funding Sources:
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Al Shabaab receives some funding from Al Qaida, as well as some diaspora communities in Somalia. There has been
accusations that Eritrea has been funding Al Shabaab with weapons and funding.

Additionally, the UN has made claims that Djibouti, Iran, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah in Lebanon are
countries and organizations funding Al Shabaab with weapons and training.

Origins:

Al Shabaab emerged as the militant wing of the ICU who took control of Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia in
2006. The groups origins are somewhat ambiguous and it is unclear whether its origins are much earlier than, or solely due
to the ICU. There are distinct connections between the disbanded AIAI (disbanded in 1997) and current Al Shabaab
membership. This had lead some analysts to suggest that the AIAI was the forerunner and developer of many of Al
Shabaabs leadership.

Ayro joined the ICU, and received blessings from Aweys to establish the militant wing following the success of capturing
signi cant control of Somalia. However, Ayro believed in connecting the Somalian campaign to the global jihadist agenda,
and this drove a rift between the ICU and Al Shabaab.

A sustained effort by African Union (AMISOM), Somali and Ethiopian troops managed to regain control of the capital,
reinstating the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The intervention of foreign powers had a radicalizing effect on Al
Shabaab. Where the ICU membership mostly ed to neighboring countries, Al Shabaab retreated to the south where it
continued to carry out guerilla assaults, bombings and assassinations.

Major Attacks:

March 26, 2007: Adam Salam Adam used a car bomb in a suicide attack against Ethiopian soldiers in
Mogadishu.AlShabaabclaimed responsibility for the bombing,allegedly the citys rst suicide attack. (~73 killed, unknown
wounded)

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October 29, 2008:AlShabaabconducted ve simultaneous suicide car bombings in the cities of Hargeisa and Bosasso,
targeting UN and government buildings. (29+ killed, 36+ wounded)

July 11, 2010:AlShabaabconducted two simultaneous suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda. (74+ killed, 85+ wounded)

April 14, 2013:AlShabaabbombed court buildings in Mogadishu, following which they conducted an armed assault inside
the buildings. On the same day,AlShabaabbombed a convoy of Turkish aid workers. (30+ killed, unknown wounded)

June 19, 2013: AnAlShabaabsuicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the entrance to the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) compound in Mogadishu.AlShabaab ghters then entered the compound, engaging in a gun ght
with security forces for over ninety minutes. (22 killed, 20+ wounded)

September 21, 2013:AlShabaabgunmen attacked the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, triggering a four-day siege by
government forces. (~68 killed, 175 wounded)

February 21, 2014:AlShabaabattacked Villa Somalia, the presidentialpalace compound, with a car bomb before entering
the compound to engage in a gun ght with guards. (14+ killed, unknown wounded)

May 24, 2014: TwoAlShabaabsuicide bombers attacked a restaurant in Djibouti. This attack was Djiboutis rst suicide
bombing. (3 killed, 11 wounded)

June 16, 2014:AlShabaabgunmen attacked severaltargets in the Kenyan town of Mpeketoni, including a police station, a
bank, and hotels as well as a hall in which people were viewing the World Cup. The next day, gunmenalso conducted an
attack on the nearby village of Poromoko. (49+ killed, unknown wounded)

November 22, 2014:AlShabaabmilitants attacked a bus with sixty passengers traveling from Kenyas Mandera to Nairobi.
The militants executed passengers who could not recite Koran verses as well as those who resisted the attack. (28 killed,
unknown wounded).

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December 2, 2014:AlShabaabmilitants conducted an attack in Koromei, in northern Kenya, killing at least thirty-six
Christian quarry workers. (~36 killed, unknown wounded)

April 2, 2015:AlShabaabgunmen attacked Garissa University College, killing non-Muslim students. The militants killed 147
people and wounded dozens of others before Kenyan forces were able to end the attack. (~151 killed, unknown wounded)

October 7, 2015:AlShabaabmilitants ambushed a car carrying two passengers, killing both. The victims included the
nephew of Somalian president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. (2 killed, unknown wounded)

January 15, 2016:Heavily armed Al Shabaab ghters attacked an African Union peacekeepers base in Eel-Ade, Somalia. (63
killed, unknown wounded)

January 22, 2016:The group attacked a popular beachside restaurant in Mogadishu. The group used rearms and two car
bombs. (20 killed, 17 wounded)

Ideological Roots:

The groups ideological roots are very similar to that of Al Qaida (Core) (http://www.mackenzieinstitute.com/al-qaida/). Al
Shabaabs close relationship with Al Qaida, especially since 2008, has signi cantly in uenced the broadening of the
groups ideological framework.

Ayro received training in Afghanistan and modeled Al Shabaabs principles after that of the Taliban. Going as far as to
mimic punishments such as amputation and stoning. Additionally, in an effort to rid the country of foreign in uence Al
Shabaab shut down BBC and banned its broadcasts in 2010, banned listening to music and watching of videos.

Al Shabaab has tried to frame the Somalian nationalist struggle in the larger frame of the global jihadi movement in order
to orient itself closer with other organizations.

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It is also important to note that Al Shabaabs leadership is at times divided. Some cleavages exist including competing clan
loyalties and nationalist versus global jihadi ideologies.

Objectives:

The primary goal is to force out the Somalian government, this is in pursuit of the ultimate goal of Al Shabaab which is the
creation of an Islamic Emirate within Somalia. Most of its ghters follow this nationalistic goal, however, there are some
that pursue the global jihadist agenda.

Al Shabaabs leadership are af liated with Al Qaida and are believed to have been trained by Al Qaida. The group publicly
announced its af liation with Al Qaida in February 2012.

Lastly, Al Shabaab wants to remove foreign in uence from Somalia. This is in part due to the intervention of Ethiopian
troops in 2006 which has fuelled an agenda to oppose the presence of foreign in uence in Somalia ever since.

Tactics:

Al Shabaab has made use primarily of explosives and rearms in its attacks. The group has claimed responsibility for many
bombings and suicide attacks throughout Somalia. Al Shabaab has launched numerous high pro le operations in
neighbouring countries as well, most notably the September 2013 attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi and the May 2014
attack in Djibouti.

The group typically resorts to suicide attacks, using Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED), as well as using
rearms to siege and seize buildings while in icting as many casualties as possible.

The group has also temporarily exerted control over strategic locations, recruiting (sometimes forcibly) regional sub-clans
and their militias. The use of guerrilla warfare tactics have been demonstrated against the Somali Federal Government
(SFG), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers and non governmental aid organizations.

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Updates February 12, 2016

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References

1. Al Shabaab. Mapping Militant Organizations. Stanford University. Last Modi ed October 31, 2015. Accessed
November 19, 2015. http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/61
2. Who Are Somalias al-Shabab? BBC. Last Modi ed April 3, 2015. Accessed November 19, 2015.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15336689
3. Al Shabaab. Terrorist Groups.The National Counterterrorism Center. Accessed November 19, 2015.
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/al_shabaab.html
4. Masters, Jonathan. Al-Shabab. Council on Foreign Relations. Last Modi ed March 13, 2015. Accessed
November 19, 2015. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabab/p18650
5. Attack Type-Al Shabaab. Global Terrorism Database. Accessed November 19, 2015.
http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?charttype=pie&chart=weapon&search=Al%20Shabaab
6. "Somali Forces end Mogadishu restaurant siege after deadly attack." BBC Africa. Last Modi ed January 22, 2016.
Accessed February 12, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35377484
7. "Al-Shabab attacks African Union base in Somalia." Al Jazeera War & Con ict. Last Modi ed January 15, 2016.
Accessed February 12, 2016.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/al-shabab-attacks-african-union-base-
somalia-160115070814884.html

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#Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed #Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb #al Shabaab al-Islaam #al Shabab #Al-Qaeda
#al-shabaab #al-Shabaab al-Islamiya #al-Shabaab al-Jihad #AMISOM #Harakat Shabaab al Mujahidin
#Hisb'ul Shabaab #Hizbul Shabaab #Islamic Courts Council #Mujahideen Youth Movement
#Mujahidin al Shabaab Movement #Mujahidin Youth #MYM #Shabaab #Somalia
#the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations #the Unity of Islamic Youth #the Youth
#Youth Wing

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