Somalia's Shabaab, Hizbul Islam seek merger

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org ^ | July 25, 2009 1:19 AM | Bill Roggio

[Cindy]

SNIPPET: "The two main Islamist terror groups battling the weak Somali government may merge into a single outfit.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of Hizbul Islam or the Party of Islam, said he is working to unite his faction with Shabaab, an al Qaeda-backed Islamic terror group that has lobbied to join the international terrorist organization. Aweys said talks were proceeding and urged followers to continue to fight until they achieve "victory over enemies" of Islam.""

SNIPPET: "Al Qaeda has increasingly focused on Somalia as being a major theater in their efforts to drive the West from African, the Middle East, and Asia. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, have included Somalia in their propaganda tapes. Both leaders have urged Somali terrorist to continue the fight."

SNIPPET: "Shabaab's offer to officially join al Qaeda was warmly received by bin Laden and Zawahiri. The two groups have yet to merge but maintain close operational and financial ties."

[Cindy]

http://somalilandpress.com

http://somalilandpress.com/7580/rebels-in-somalia-unite-against-enemies-of-islam/

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/027020.php
(SOMALILAND PRESS)

July 25, 2009
“Somali jihadist: the ‘jihad against the enemies of Islam’ will continue”

[Cindy]

Blog:

attahleel.wordpress.com/

attahleel.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/nightmare/

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http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/07/renewed_focus_on_foreign_fight.php

“Renewed Focus on Foreign Fighters and Terrorist Threats in Somalia”
By Evan Kohlmann

SNIPPET: “The last few weeks have seen a renewed focus on the issue of foreign fighters—particularly Somali-American exiles—who are traveling to Somalia in hopes of joining the militant Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement. A former Islamic Courts Union (ICU) leader-turned Somali president Shaykh Sharif Ahmed spoke directly to the issue on Sunday, quoted by CNN as urging, “the Somali-American community not to send their youth to Somalia to fight alongside al-Shabaab... I am saying to those young men from abroad: ‘Your families fled your home to America because of insecurity. You should not return here to ferment violence against your people.”

On the same day, the New York Times published a lengthy article on the recruitment of Somali-Americans by Shabaab, along with an accompanying video presentation with analysis from a host of various Shabaab watchers, including myself.”

(Added July 13, 2009)