A top leader of the Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab movement and some movement members were killed on Saturday in a strike believed to be carried out by a U.S. drone, a Somali official has said.

Ahmed Adan said the strike targeted a convoy of Al-Shabaab top leaders near Dinsoor, a town in the southwestern Bay region of Somalia.

“I have confirmation from the ground that several Al-Shabaab militants and a top leader have been killed in the airstrike,” Adan, a Bay region official, told The Anadolu Agency.

“They were in several vehicles heading to a training camp, not far from Dinsoor,” he added.

The name of the Al-Shabaab leader targeted as part of the convoy was not immediately known.

Adan said, however, that the training camp and two Dinsoor houses were also targeted by the strike.

Dinsoor is one of the few remaining urban centers still controlled by Al-Shabaab, which has been battling the government of Mogadishu for several years now.

On Sept. 2, 2014, a U.S. drone attack killed Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane, and as the year ended, Al-Shabaab’s intelligence chief, Abdi Tahliil, was  also killed by another drone attack.

Source:  aa.com.tr

Islamic State’s franchise in Libya has heightened security concerns in Malta. The experts agree that the power vacuum in Tripoli offers ISIS fertile ground.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has sounded a stark warning on the prospect that Libya is now teetering along a familiar route for all failed states.

With authority now fragmented amongst militia-run provinces, an anti-Islamist military effort by renegade general Khalifa Haftar and his Operation Dignity, the Misrata-run Libya Dawn that took Tripoli, and Abdullah Al Thinni’s exiled government in Tobruk, the big question is whether Islamic State’s franchise in the Mediterranean can have spill-over effects.

Muscat told MPs this week that migratory flows and an energy crisis would be among the first effects of a Libyan collapse, and that a United Nations peacekeeping force should be on the ready to keep the country on track to rebuild itself.

The suicide bombers that attacked the Maltese-Libyan owned Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli last week brought the reality of Islamic State closer to home.

It was already known that ISIS adherents had proclaimed Derna as part of the caliphate, but the conflagration of interests inside the Corinthia’s lobby and its bloody aftermath were evident to experts like Mohammed Eljarh. Early on in the day he spotted the tweets calling the Corinthia attack an operation to avenge the death of al Qaeda suspect Nazih al-Ruqai, also known as Abu Anas al-Libi, in a US hospital in January. Libi, an alleged former al Qaeda operative, was snatched by the CIA in 2013 in Libya, for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Those two bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured thousands more.

Back in Malta, the embassy attaché in Attard, Hussin Misrati, who represents the Tripoli ‘government’ run by pretender Omar al Hassi, is claiming that the attack was an attempt on their leader – who sometimes runs business from the Corinthia – and not an ISIS operation.

Misrati is in a state of denial. As Eljarh points out in his update for Foreign Policy magazine on the Corinthia attack, the Islamic State has become more visible in western and southern Libya in recent weeks after months of fierce fighting in the eastern city of Benghazi.

“The attack in Tripoli underlines the huge threat from extremist groups throughout Libya… It’s likely that Islamic State fighters will press ahead with their attacks against targets in Tripoli and other communities in the west, including the relatively safe city of Misrata, as they seek to broaden their presence, following the example set by the rapid territorial expansion of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq last year.”

Hassi’s government has blamed Gaddafi loyalists working for Haftar.

“The state of denial by Hassi and his allies has its roots in their belief that acknowledging the existence of groups like the Islamic State would reinforce the position of the army and Haftar. They see Haftar as their No. 1 enemy in Libya, and they have correspondingly clung to the notion that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. Now, however, the Islamic State has sent a clear message that it is the friend of no one, apart from those who pledge unconditional allegiance to it,” Eljarh writes.

As peace talks in Geneva continue under the auspices of the United Nations, the threat that Islamic State could plant its roots in the fertile land of internecine conflict risks becoming a reality in divided Libya.

Avenging Abu Anas

The death of Libi at the hands of his US captors illustrates how the war on terrorism waged by intelligence services in covert operations, serves as a background to the radicalisation of fighters in countries like Libya.

There is no doubt that Libi, a computer expert, was a mastermind in the US embassy bombings with a past in fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan and, according to a Moroccan witness, close to Osama Bin Laden. His family is believed to have been granted political asylum in the UK, but after a raid on his house in Manchester in 2000, ostensibly on intelligence tip-offs, he relocated to Iran. There he was arrested, and only allowed to return to Libya in 2011.

Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Abu Anas al-Libi, was taken by US Delta Force marines in a dramatic operation in the Libyan capital in October 2013. Suspected of being a senior al Qaeda member, he was accused of involvement in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa and was on the FBI’s most wanted militants list.

The CCTV footage of his capture shows masked men brandishing handguns leaping out from a white Mercedes van as Libi returned in his car at 6:30am from morning prayers. Three cars blocked the street, then came a van with tinted windows. The van pulled up and without a shot being fired, Libi was swooped away for rendition.

It was an important coup for the Americans, celebrated by the media there, while back in Libya, the Zeidan government condemned the kidnapping.

Libi was indicted in Manhattan on charges of conspiring with Bin Laden and in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

He was described as an Al Qaeda computer expert who conducted surveillance of the embassy in Nairobi. He allegedly authored a terrorism manual recommending “blasting and destroying the embassies and attacking vital economic centres”.

Early in January, Libi died at the age of 50 in a New York hospital of complications from liver surgery as he was waiting to stand trial. His son Abdullah’s raucous display of outrage, surrounded by Islamic State flags, on the return of his father’s body could have portended the attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, which houses diplomats and security contractors.

“Let Obama know that our appointment with him will be in front of Allah,” Abdullah al Ruqai is seen telling journalists angrily, in a YouTube video, on his father’s death. “I won’t forgive anyone who participated in the kidnapping of my father even if it was by mere words.”

From rendition to radicalisation

An assessment by the UK security service MI5 has established that a secret UK-Libyan rendition programme in which two Libyan opposition leaders were kidnapped and flown to Tripoli, along with their families, had the effect of strengthening Al Qaeda.

The Guardian newspaper wrote that prior to their kidnap, Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi had ensured that their organisation, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), focused on the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi.

But when the UK’s intelligence service MI6 seized them in Thailand and Hong Kong in March 2004 – and “rendered” to Tripoli along with Belhaj’s pregnant wife and Saadi’s wife and four children – their places at the head of the LIFG were taken by others who wanted to bring the group closer to Al Qaeda.

The papers recovered during the Libyan revolution show that Britain’s intelligence agencies engaged in joint operations with Gaddafi’s government.

In 2006, Libyan agents worked alongside MI5 on UK soil to allegedly intimidate a number of Gaddafi opponents granted asylum in the UK.

In a letter, Tony Blair wrote to Gaddafi in April 2007, addressed “Dear Mu’ammar”. Blair expressed his regret that the British government had failed in its attempts to have a number of Gaddafi’s opponents deported from the UK. It turned out that MI5 was seeking to disrupt the activities of anti-Gaddafi activists.

Belhaj and Saadi both say they were beaten, whipped, subjected to electric shocks, deprived of sleep and threatened while being held at Tajoura prison outside Tripoli.

Caliphate in the Med

Radical Islam is not new to Libya. In the 1990s the main armed resistance to Gaddafi was in fact the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, whom the dictator crushed after a 10-year war in the Green mountains.

Years later, the main origin of the fighters that later would find themselves also fighting American forces inside Iraq, hailed from the town Derna.

When the 2011 revolution saw the Islamists return home, after Gaddafi’s death the big winners were the non-jihadist Muslim Brotherhood, whose Justice and Construction Party scraped together a fragile coalition after the first post-revolution elections in 2012.

Jihadism expert Aaron Y. Zelin was amongst the first to bring out the news of the rising Islamic State flag in Derna.

Majlis Shura Shabab al-Islam, based in Derna, proclaimed its allegiance to the Caliph (‘baya’), and since then Islamic State is believed to be operating in Benghazi, Sirte, and Tripoli, creating the self-styled Wilayat al-Barqah in the east, Wilayat al-Tarabulus in the west, and Wilayat al-Fizan in the south.

Zelin says ISIS’s “wilayat” strategy differs in significant ways from Al Qaeda’s “franchise” strategy.

“The key difference is that Al Qaeda wanted its franchises to attack Western countries so that they stop supporting ‘apostate Arab regimes, which without the support of Western countries would then be ripe for the taking… On the other hand, the Islamic State’s main priority is building out its caliphate, fighting locally, instituting limited governance and conducting outreach.”

Added to this is Islamic State’s social media strategy: the Corinthia Tripoli attack was live-blogged by ISIS supporters on Twitter, who declared the operation “ongoing”, in the name of the “martyred” Abu Anas, and then tweeted the images of the suicide bombers.

“This accomplishes more, even if it appears that the Islamic State is doing more than it actually is, in comparison with al-Qaeda’s practice of waiting for a successful external operation to succeed and then claiming responsibility after the fact,” Zelin says.

“Libya has the highest likelihood of success since there is no state, though there are limitations too since there is a multi-polar devolution of a variety of armed actors… as of now, the Islamic State has indeed set itself up on a limited base in the Sinai and has established a growing movement in Libya more than two months following the announcement of its expansion.”

Source:  maltatoday

Following recent intelligence indicating that Boko Haram militants were strategizing on a fierce offensive to capture Maiduguri before the February 14 elections, the army moved more than 70 female soldiers last week.

Highly reliable security sources have told SaharaReporters that Nigerian military authorities are moving female soldiers based in various army formations in Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State to Abuja as the army anticipates a massive attack on Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, by terrorists belonging to Islamist group, Boko Haram.

The sources said there was heightened apprehension about an impending attack, hence the decision to reassign female soldiers to Nigeria’s capital.

The military action also stemmed from the death of five female soldiers and the abduction of another four by Boko Haram militants when they attacked a military base in Baga a few weeks ago.

Following recent intelligence indicating that Boko Haram militants were strategizing on a fierce offensive to capture Maiduguri before the February 14 elections, the army moved more than 70 female soldiers last week. One of our sources revealed that 146 more female soldiers had been moved to Maiduguri airport, where they are awaiting airlift to Abuja. The source said that all the female soldiers were supposed to have left by 10 a.m. on Thursday, but added that the military did not have a large enough aircraft to take their entire luggage.

The security sources also told SaharaReporters that Maimalari Barracks, home to the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, is the only military base left standing in Borno State. Maimalari was described as the only military formation capable of withstanding a major attack from Boko Haram militants.

One source said that Nigerian military intelligence had received information that Islamist militants were regrouping in areas around Maiduguri in preparation for a major offensive against the city. The Islamist fighters’ attempt to take over the state capital last week was foiled, with Nigerian troops and civilian vigilante members collaborating to kill more than 100 terrorists.

However, the militants successfully overran Monguno Barrack, killing and injuring many soldiers. One military source revealed that military authorities have so far been able to account for approximately 1,000 soldiers out of the 1,400 soldiers who were stationed in the Monguno Barracks. Most of the soldiers had reported to Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri, but were locked out for several days by military authorities.

An officer in Maiduguri told SaharaReporters that the troops in the state capital were equal to the task of repelling any attacks by Boko Haram, but a few residents told our correspondent that they were skeptical of such confidence. One resident wondered why the Nigerian military had not adopted an offensive strategy against Boko Haram insurgents, instead of only defending when the Islamist fighters initiate an attack.

Asked why Nigerian soldiers often flee from advancing columns of Boko Haram attacks when Chadian and Cameroonian troops are recording major successes against the insurgents, a Nigerian military source blamed it on the inadequate weaponry as well as poor motivation on the part of Nigerian soldiers. He stated that battle-weary Nigerian soldiers keep hearing reports of their commanders in Abuja who have acquired huge wealth from the burgeoning defense budget. “Even to pay these soldiers their allowance or to buy them good helmets is a problem because of this corruption that is well known,” the officer said.

A source claimed that Chadian soldiers had chased off Boko Haram militants from Gamboru-Ngala, while troops from Niger Republic reportedly pushed out the militants from Malafatori on the Nigerian-Niger border. There were also reports that Cameroonian military forces had pushed Boko Haram from Kirawa and Ashigashiwa on the eastern flank.

Source:  saharareporters

Liban Haji Mohamed, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia, has been named to the FBI’s list of Most Wanted Terrorists, and a reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Mohamed is charged with providing material support and resources to al Qaeda and al Shabaab, a Somali-based terrorist organization.

“Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for many bombings in Somalia and Uganda and the 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya,” said Carl Ghattas, special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division at the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Liban Mohamed is believed to have left the U.S. with the intent to join al Shabaab in East Africa. We believe he is currently there operating on behalf of that terrorist organization.”

Traveling with his U.S. passport, Mohamed is thought to have left the United States on or about July 5, 2012. Before his departure, the 29-year-old lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where he worked as a cab driver.

“While living in Northern Virginia, Mohamed was a recruiter and radicalizer for al Shabaab, which historically has targeted Westerners to go to Somalia and fight for them,” Ghattas said. “Not only did Mohamed choose to go to Somalia and fight with al Shabaab, he took a prominent role in trying to recruit people and have them train with weapons.”

A federal warrant for Mohamed’s arrest was unsealed today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. In addition to today’s announcement adding Mohamed to the terrorist list and offering a reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction, the FBI is publicizing the case on social media channels in Somalia and elsewhere to encourage people to come forward with information about the fugitive.

“It is important for us to locate Mohamed because he has knowledge of the Washington, D.C. area’s infrastructure such as shopping areas, Metro, airports, and government buildings,” Ghattas explained. “This makes him an asset to his terrorist associates who might plot attacks on U.S. soil.”

Shortly after leaving the U.S, the international police organization Interpol issued a blue notice for Mohamed to collect additional information about his identity, location, and activities. On August 15, 2014, Interpol issued a red notice to seek him as a wanted fugitive.

Mohamed speaks English, Somali, and Arabic. He is black, 6 feet tall, weighs about 194 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He could be using aliases including Abu Ayrow, Shirwa, Shirwac, Qatiluhum, and Qatil. Mohamed was a close associate of convicted terrorist Zachary Chesser, who was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab.

There are currently 31 individuals on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. Those on the list have been charged in the U.S. for their alleged involvement in various terrorist attacks or planned attacks around the world against U.S. interests or persons.

The FBI also announced today it is seeking information about another individual, Ghazi Nasr Al-Din, regarding fundraising efforts on behalf of the terrorist group Hizballah (see sidebar).

Anyone with information about Liban Haji Mohamed or Ghazi Nasr Al-Din should contact the FBI or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips can be submitted anonymously online.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has announced in a television interview, that Germany will provide more heavy weapons and ammunition to the Kurds. Earlier the Kurds have asked the international community to provide more weapons.

According to the Defence Minister the struggle of the Kurds is also in the Germany’s interest.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier from the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), the mission will not be a ‘combat mission, it’s about education’.

Moreover, the German parliament has approved a mission of 100 trainers to go to Kurdistan to support the Peshmerga forces. 457 of the 590 MPs voted yes, there were only 79 votes against, and 54 abstentions.

This despite of opposition from the Left Party and the Green party that argue the mission is unconstitutional. According to Germany’s constitution the military can only be deployed in a collective mission under a UN Security Council mandate, NATO, or the EU flag. But the government does not expect any legal action.

Defence Minister von der Leyen says they want to create a new list for further assistance to the Kurds, since the “Peshmerga basically lack everything,” said the politician. The Peshmerga forces especially need ammunition for assault rifles and Milan rockets.

Source: BasNews

A partial take-over of the Corinthia Hotel Tripoli by a number of terrorists is now over, with all the terrorists having been killed by Libyan forces.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet said the government had been informed that the attack was over. He also said he will report about the attack in Parliament tomorrow, and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has also been briefed about intelligence available to the government.

Informed sources said intelligence reports indicated the terrorist action was not an attack intended against Malta or the Corinthia itself.

The raid on the popular central Tripoli hotel took place just after 9am today when the terrorists set off a car bomb and stormed the lobby, killing three security guards in a firefight. They are then believed to have held a number of hostages on the 20th floor of the hotel.

According to unofficial reports five foreigners were also killed. Another three were injured.

A spokesman for the Corinthia group said all Maltese and all guests were safe.

Affiliates of Islamic State were said to have claimed responsibility in a tweet, saying they had occupied the hotel to kill diplomats.

However the Corinthia spokesman said no senior diplomats are known to have been staying at the hotel.
The ‘Isis’ claim was also disputed by observers, who pointed out that the intended target may have been (Islamist-leaning) ‘Prime Minister’ Omar Hasi, who is not recognised by the international community.

Some media outlets claimed he was in the hotel a short time before the attack – a claim which a Corinthia spokesman said was incorrect.

People on the scene said that between two and five terrorists wearing bullet proof vests stormed the hotel and were holed up in one of the top floors. Occasional gunfire was heard as security forces surrounded the complex.

The Associated Press quoted a Libyan security official as saying the gunmen had taken hostages.

The Corinthia spokesman said he was unaware of any hostages.

A civilian who witnessed the attack told the BBC: “I suddenly heard shooting and saw people running towards me, and we all escaped from the back [of the hotel] through the garage underground. The hotel did a lockdown after that.”

Other hotels were evacuated as a precaution.

IS CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY, BUT OTHERS CAST DOUBTS
The tweet purportedly from IS called the attack The Raid of Abu Anas al-Libi, the suspected al Qaeda figure alleged to have helped plan the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. He died in hospital this month in New York ahead of his scheduled trial.

The media office of Libya Dawn, the ‘government’ which now controls Tripoli, accused pro-Dignity Operation loyalists of being behind the attack.

The Dignity Operation is allied to the internationally recognised government based in Tobruk.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet said the government was closely monitoring the situation.

Speaking later in Brussels, Dr Muscat said the government and the Security Service were gathering all intelligence about what had taken place but it would be irresponsible to draw conclusions. It was not known who the terrorists represented and who their message was addressed to.

“One should not rush into any conclusions,” he stressed.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil also referred to the attack and reports that Maltese personnel and guests were safe. ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with them,’ he said.

The Corinthia is one of Tripoli’s top hotels and frequently hosts top diplomats and Libyan government officials.

Source:  timesofmalta

The United Nations and its international partners today voiced concern over delays in the resolution of Somalia’s long-standing political crisis and in the implementation of a stability-building mechanism as they called on the Horn of Africa nation’s President, Prime Minister and Federal Parliament ‘to unite for the greater good of the country.’

In a joint statement issued by the UN, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), European Union, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the United States and United Kingdom, the partners urged the country to ‘move swiftly’ towards the implementation of ‘Vision 2006’ through a new Cabinet endorsed by Parliament, warning that further delays ‘could jeopardize the progress Somalia has made towards building peace and security.’

“September 2016 remains the constitutional deadline for conducting free and fair elections,” they declared. “All Somali institutions must focus on building consensus and act in the national interest.”

The statement comes as Somalia struggles to emerge from a political crisis ignited when a recent parliamentary vote of ‘no confidence’ resulted in the political ouster of Somalia’s former Prime Minister.

The Somali Parliament dismissed Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed on 6 December due to reported disputes between Mr. Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over political appointments. Since then, the Parliament has confirmed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the country’s new Prime Minister but political uncertainty still remains.

In addition, the country has been plagued by political infighting and bursts of extremist violence as the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab, continues to wage an insurgency. Just last month, in the city of Baidoa, a terrorist attack left at least 15 people dead with many more wounded.

Against that backdrop, Raisedon Zenenga, the UN’s newly appointed Deputy Special Representative arrived today in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, to assume his duties with UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

“I am very pleased to have this opportunity to return to Somalia and support the aspirations of the people of Somalia for a peaceful, stable and prosperous future,” Mr. Zenenga said in a press release, adding that over the coming days he looked forward to meeting with officials from the Government as well as AMISOM and IGAD.

As part of UNSOM’s mandate, Mr. Zenenga will work in support of Somalia’s political priorities, human rights, rule of law and security institutions.

“The challenges are tremendous,” he concluded, “but we must work together to push forward the progress that the Somali people want to see.”

Source:  un.org

A suicide car bomb attack hit a hotel near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday, causing casualties, police and witnesses said.

The attack, which bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaeda-affilated al-shabaab rebels, hit the gate of a hotel commonly used to host visiting dignitaries and came on the eve of a visit to the city by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“There was a heavy explosion and at the gate of the SYL hotel. It was a car bomb explosion,” Somali police official Mohamed Adan said.

Witnesses said they saw a car speeding towards the gate of the hotel, and reported a massive explosion.
“I saw the speeding along the main road and the driver turned into the Hotel SYL gate. There was huge explosion, smoke and shrapnel. Several people were down on the ground, I don’t know if they were dead,” said an eyewitness, Abdukadir Munin.

The attack comes even though Mogadishu, and particulalry the area around the presidential palace, has been placed under extra-tight security ahead of Erdogan’s visit.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although al-Shabaab rebels — who are fighting to overthrow the country’s internationally-backed government — have carried out a string of attacks against high-profile targets in Mogadishu.

Source:  news24.com

Somalia’s Shabaab militants, al-Qaeda’s main affiliate in Africa, on Wednesday urged supporters in Europe to follow the example of Islamist gunmen who carried out attacks in Paris.

The Shabaab, who called the attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly in Paris a “heroic operation” against a “lair of evil and centre of disbelief”, offered specific warnings to France.

“We warn France and those who tread her course about the implications of their hostility towards Islam and the consequences of their oppression and belligerence against Muslims,” the statement read.

The Islamists said the attacks, in which 17 people died in three days of bloodshed, were “worthy of being emulated”.

“We also take this opportunity to thank our brothers, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who have been – and continue to be – the pioneers of external operations that target the heart of the Crusader enemies,” the statement added.

The Shabaab, who control large areas of rural Somalia, are reported to have close links with al-Qaeda fighters in neighbouring Yemen, where one of the two brothers who carried out the attack is believed to have trained.

The Shabaab were also linked to Mohamed Geele, a Somali man who was convicted of a 2010 axe attack against Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who had faced numerous death threats since his caricature of the Muslim prophet Mohammed appeared in the Danish daily Jyllands Posten in 2005.

Source:  news24.com