In a new statement Al-Shabab's Political & Provinces Office alleged that the vast majority (80%+) of U.S. military strikes over the past few years have targeted non-AS targets, instead killing farmers, nomadic pastoralists, & other civilians.
This is a continuation, AS alleged, of U.S. hostility in particular toward Somalis since the early 1990s UN mission.
The statement focused not only on the human victims but also on the material damage to homes and other buildings and the killings of valuable livestock.
Praising the steadfastness of Somalis, comparing them to the first Muslims in Medina facing the Quraysh, AS (ignoring its own killings of civilians) promised to increase aid to victims & their families.
AS also warned other East African Muslims outside Somalia they are not safe.
In a new video, IS-Somalia released footage showing, it says, a multi-hour battle in the Cal Miskaad Mountains between insurgents & Somali Puntland regional state forces backed by U.S. forces and air strikes:
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The "battle" was defensive on IS-Somalia's part, with the militant group saying it was "repelling" a Puntland state attack, aided by U.S. forces & air power, on it in the Cal Miskaad Mountains;
IS-Somalia also shows the training of a handful of fighters it says make up one of its "security detachments," units tasked with assassinations, planting IEDs, & conducting surveillance on Somali government & ATMIS forces, including in & around Mogadishu:
In 2022, Islamic State (IS) claims it or its affiliates carried out 2,058 attacks globally causing 6,881 casualties (killed & wounded), destroying 2,310 houses or residences, 156 heat-sensor cameras (mostly in Iraq), & 865 vehicles of various types.
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Islamic State (IS) claims it carried out attacks in Yemen (1), Uganda (1), Benin (2), Indian-administered Kashmir/"Hind" (2), Iran (2), Palestine (1), Cameroon (7), Philippines (6), Burkina Faso (4), Libya (3), Mali (22), Somalia (32),
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Islamic State (IS) claims it carried out attacks also in: Niger (11), Chad (10), the DRC Congo (167), Mozambique (156), Egypt (95), Pakistan (58), Iraq (484), Syria (297), Nigeria (517), & Afghanistan (181);
IS-Mozambique claims it attacked a "Christian" village in the Palma area in Cabo Delgado province two days ago, killing 2 villagers:
IS-Mozambique claims it attacked a joint Mozambican & Tanzanian army patrol in an ambush in Palma, Cabo Delgado province, destroying 3 vehicles and seizing weapons & ammunition:
IS-Mozambique claims it attacked a joint Mozambican & Tanzanian army patrol in an ambush in Palma, Cabo Delgado province, destroying 3 vehicles and seizing weapons & ammunition:
Starting in 2011, Al-Shabaab began withdrawing, after publicly announcing its intention to do so, from Mogadishu & continued to withdraw from major urban centers in the face of a major AMISOM & Somali government, backed by allied militias in some areas, offensive.
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AS generally did not choose to make "last stands," unlike Islamic State in Mosul and (to a lesser extent) Raqqa city in 2016-2017, perhaps having learned its lesson during disastrous "Ramadan offensives" in previous years. Insurgent operations & media were interrupted.
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Today AS is facing a major threat to its territorial occupation & presence in a number of regions (e.g. Hiraan, Galguduud) as Somali federal forces, some clan militias, & ATMIS forces ramp up pressure across multiple regions in an attempt to stretch insurgent forces.
Al-Shabaab funery prayer (salat al-janaza) & burial of Shaykh Nur Mu'alim 'Abdi Rahman, a religious scholar affiliated with the Islamic Courts Union & then Al-Shabaab.
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Born in 1960/1961 (1380 hijri) in Adan Yabal, Middle Shabelle, he studied in Mogadishu & later at the University of Science and Technology in Yemen & Sudan, memorizing the Qur'an & studying Arabic grammar, Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), & Shafi'i fiqh.
In his final years, he was active in religious missionary propagation (da'wa), influencing many of the "mujahidin & martyrdom-seekers" through his lectures in local mosques.
Al-Shabaab Juba wali Mohamed Abu 'Abdullah led the janaza prayer for the shaykh.