Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

AL-SHABAAB
aka The Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin; al-Shabab; Shabaab; the Youth; Mujahidin al-Shabaab
Movement; Mujahideen Youth Movement; Mujahidin Youth Movement
Description: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 18, 2008, al-Shabaab was
the militant wing of the former Somali Islamic Courts Council that took over parts of southern
Somalia in the second half of 2006. Since the end of 2006, al-Shabaab and disparate militias led
a violent insurgency using guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics against the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) of Somalia; the group continues to fight the Government of Somalia. In
February 2012, al-Qa’ida (AQ) announced that al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed
had pledged obedience to Ayman al-Zawahiri and AQ. Al-Shabaab has also developed ties to al-
Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
In some camps, AQ-affiliated foreign fighters often led the training and indoctrination of the
recruits, while rank and file militia fighters from multiple clan and sub-clan factions that are
aligned with al-Shabaab are predominantly interested in indigenous issues. The group’s foreign
fighters were generally intent on conducting attacks outside Somalia but since 2011 have seen
their operational capacity reduced due to the military campaign against al-Shabaab. In 2012, al-
Shabaab’s capability to wage conventional attacks was greatly diminished. Somalia’s TFG and
its successor, the Federal Government of Somalia (elected indirectly in September) – with the
assistance of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), as well as Ethiopian and allied Somali
militia forces – secured areas neighboring Mogadishu and drove al-Shabaab from control of
many of its urban strongholds in south-central Somalia. Most notably, the forces drove al-
Shabaab from control of the port city of Kismayo on September 28. This led to al-Shabaab’s
greater reliance on indirect assaults and asymmetrical tactics against AMISOM, Somali, and
Kenyan forces. These attacks included the increased use of more sophisticated improvised
explosive devices (IEDs).
Activities: Al-Shabaab has used intimidation and violence to undermine the TFG and now the
Government of Somalia, forcibly recruit new fighters, and kill activists working to bring about
peace through political dialogue and reconciliation. The group has claimed responsibility for
several high profile bombings and shootings throughout Somalia targeting AMISOM troops and
Somali officials. It has been responsible for the assassination of numerous civil society figures,
government officials, and journalists. Al-Shabaab fighters and those who have also claimed
allegiance to the group have conducted violent attacks and have assassinated international aid
workers and members of NGOs.
In its first attack outside of Somalia, al-Shabaab was responsible for the July 11, 2010 suicide
bombings in Kampala, Uganda during the World Cup, which killed nearly 76 people, including
one American citizen. Al-Shabaab’s attacks continued apace in 2012, and resulted in the deaths
of hundreds of people. Among al-Shabaab’s most notable 2012 attacks in Somalia were a series
of mortar attacks in March against the Somali presidential palace; an April suicide attack
targeting Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali at Mogadishu’s National Theater, which killed
five; a May suicide attack at a Café in Dusa Mareb, which killed seven people, including two
Somali Members of Parliament; and a violent attack on the town near the Kenyan border in
November, which left at least 12 dead. Outside of Somalia, al-Shabaab was also believed
responsible for a number of deadly grenade attacks in Kenya.
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