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The Islamist terrorist group al Shabab is intentionally starving Somali Christians in territory it controls. It’s just the latest incident in the terror group’s systematic efforts to eradicate all of Somalia’s Christians. According to the International Christian Concern (ICC), al Shabab’s intentional denial of humanitarian aid has resulted in the deliberate starvation of 18 Christians in the Somali cities of Afgoye, Baidawa, and Kismayo. As ICC spokesman Jonathan Racho said, “Any Somali that is suspected of being a Christian, or a friend of a Christian, does not receive any food aid.” Unfortunately, the ongoing and purposeful elimination of the small...

A recent suicide bombing by a Somali-American from Minnesota comes on the heels of 18 Somalis charged with recruiting young Somali-American men for al-Shabab, Somalia’s brutal Islamist terror group. Both incidents underscore the growing threat posed by al-Shabab’s pipeline into America’s Somali community. According to al-Shabab leaders, 25-year-old Somali-American, Abdullahi Ahmed, detonated himself last week in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing two African Union peacekeeping troops in the process. Ahmed was one of 20 Somali-Americans from Minnesota who disappeared in 2007. At the time, all of the men were suspected of having gone to Somalia to join al-Shabab in...

As I write this, Somalia is suffering its worst drought in 60 years. The lack of rain—combined with civil unrest and political interference from the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group—has produced catastrophic results. Yesterday Nancy Linborg, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told a Congressional committee that more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 had died over the past three months in Somalia, thanks to the famine. If conditions worsen—and there's little reason to expected that they won't—upwards to 800,000 children may die of hunger and other causes. The violent political situation on the ground...

The World Food Program can't reach 2.2 million Somalis in desperate need of aid in militant-controlled areas of Somalia, WFP's director said Saturday, meaning refugee camps in nearby Kenya and Ethiopia are likely to continue seeing thousands of new refugees each week. SNIP Al-Shabab signaled in early July that it would accept aid groups it had previously banned, but changed course on Thursday, saying groups like WFP are not welcome. The group's refusal to accept aid from Western and "Christian" aid groups means millions could starve — or be forced to begin the hike to help to Kenya, Ethiopia or...

To Omer Abdi Mohamed, raising money to send other young men to Somalia, to train and arm them with assault rifles to fight there, had nothing to do with terrorism. In late 2007, he said, it was about defending his homeland against Ethiopians. One problem: It was still illegal, federal officials say. On Monday, Mohamed agreed, pleading guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to a single count of conspiracy to "murder, kidnap or maim" Ethiopian and Somali troops. His plea came of the eve of his trial. He would have been the first of 21 local people of Somali descent...

The UN has made its first aid delivery to drought victims in areas of Somalia controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants since they lifted an aid ban. UN children organisation's Rozanne Chorlton said al-Shabab had given UN workers unhindered access and hoped this would encourage other agencies. It comes as the UK pledged £52.25m ($84m) in emergency drought aid. But the UK's overseas aid minister told the BBC the UK would not deal with al-Shabab, which controls much of Somalia. Andrew Mitchell is touring the huge Dadaab camp in north-eastern Kenya to see the scale of the crisis caused by the drought,...

<p>A fight at Minnesota’s largest mosque is getting a lot of attention in the Somali community, with many saying it exposes a divide between those who want the mosque to take on a more political role while others want the mosque to stay out of politics altogether.</p>

WASHINGTON — The clandestine American military campaign to combat Al Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen is expanding to fight the Islamist militancy in Somalia, as new evidence indicates that insurgents in the two countries are forging closer ties and possibly plotting attacks against the United States, American officials say. An American military drone aircraft attacked several Somalis in the militant group the Shabab late last month, the officials said, killing at least one of its midlevel operatives and wounding others. The strike was carried out by the same Special Operations Command unit now battling militants in Yemen, and it represented an...

Suicide Bomber Attacks Mogadishu Port Thursday, June 9th, 2011 at 3:45 pm UTC Posted 25 minutes ago Somali police say a suicide bomber has attacked the main port in the capital, Mogadishu, killing at least one civilian and also losing his own life. Authorities say the attacker and another man penetrated a security wall on Thursday. Police say the first man detonated explosives he was wearing, killing himself and another person. Security forces shot and killed the second attacker. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab is fighting the Somali government and African Union troops...

Somali Islamist militants have come under attack by two foreign helicopters near Kismayo, their spokesman says. Hassan Yacqub said two patrolling al-Shabab fighters were wounded in the raid on Thursday evening in Qandal on the outskirts of the port city. He said the fighters fired back at what were either US or French helicopters. Kismayo is a stronghold of the al-Shabab Islamist group, which has links to al-Qaeda, and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. Residents told the BBC that there was a large al-Shabab training camp in the area of Qandal, about 10km (six miles) south of...

Nearly three years ago, a Minneapolis man blew himself up oceans away in Somalia. His death put Minnesota at the heart of a still unfolding multinational counterterrorism probe that has seen 20 Minnesotans indicted on terror-related charges, at least another nine killed in fighting overseas and a handful more arrested and convicted. Others have been charged with fundraising or wiring money to a terror group in Somalia, and one of the men charged is scheduled to go on trial next month -- a first in the case. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Minneapolis last month to reaffirm his office's...

Somali Interior Minister Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan has been killed in a suicide attack at his home in the capital, Mogadishu. Officials say the bomber was his own teenage niece, who had joined the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The group said it carried out the attack and said more would follow. Meanwhile, two people are said to have been killed in Mogadishu during protests against a deal to extend the terms of the president and parliament. Under the deal signed in Uganda on Thursday, their mandates have been extended until June 2012 and the prime minister is to be sacked....

Somali officials confirmed today that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al Qaeda's leader in East Africa and a senior Shabaab commander, was killed at a Somali military checkpoint in Mogadishu earlier this week. Fazul is one of the most wanted terrorists in East Africa for his role in attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as his role within Shabaab. Somalia's minister of information confirmed Fazul's death, according to The Associated Press. "We've compared the pictures of the body to his old pictures," he said. "They are the same. It is confirmed. He is the man and he is...

Another Somali man is charged in Minnesota in connection with the travels of young men who are thought to have joined a terror group in their homeland. Ahmed Hussein Mahamud was arrested Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, and made his initial appearance in federal court there on charges of providing material support to terrorists. An indictment unsealed Thursday says that from April 2009 to July 2009, Mahamud provided money and personnel to al-Shabab.

Somali government troops backed by African Union forces have advanced towards the main market in the capital Mogadishu, a stronghold of the Islamist rebels of al-Shabab. The government says it has taken several key locations in the city after heavy fighting. It says it now controls around half of Mogadishu. Correspondents say this marks a considerable change of fortunes -- earlier this year the Somali authorities held little more than a few roads around the presidential palace.

SNIPPET: "Total bail was set at $200,000, and as a condition of release, Mr. Hersi must be in the company of one of his sureties at all times, except during private consultations with his lawyer. He has also been banned from applying for a passport, possessing firearms and accessing the Internet."

Two Muslim extremists in Somalia murdered a member of a secret Christian community in the name of Islam in Lower Shabele region as part of a campaign to rid the country of Christianity, sources said. An area source told Compass two al Shabaab militants shot 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan in Shalambod town after entering his house at 7:30 p.m. “Two al Shabaab members dragged him out of his house, and after 10 minutes they fired several shots on him,” said an area source who requested anonymity. “He then died immediately.” The militants then shouted “Allahu Akbar [God is greater]” before...

A Somali who attacked the home of a Danish cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad has been jailed for nine years by a Danish court. Mohamed Geele, 29, was convicted on Thursday of attempted murder and terrorism after his attack last year on Kurt Westergaard, 75. Mr Westergaard avoided injury by sheltering in a panic room ....[SNIP]............ Living in the city of Aalborg, he was involved in a youth club, where he became a role model for others, former club worker Nuuradiin Hussein said. "He was one of my favourite boys at the club," said Mr Hussein, now a social...

Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "Bout and American-born pal Richard Chichakli were accused of creating a new business, Samar Airlines, which they thought was clean of any connection to their own bloody dealings. Starting in the summer of 2007, Samar Airlines started making deals for airplanes and crews to ferry contraband between the United States and Tajikistan, the indictment said." SNIPPET: "The Russian-born Bout is accused of wiring $1.7 million from bank accounts in Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Russia through banks in New York City and Salt Lake City to finance the scheme." SNIPPET: "Bout, who is accused of supplying weapons to real...

At least 19 people were killed during heavy clashes on Saturday, with government forces staging a violent mutiny in a separate incident, Radio Garowe reports. The fighting sparked overnight Friday after Al Shabaab insurgents attacked bases of Somali government forces and their African Union (AMISOM) allies in Hodan district. Witnesses reported that many civilians including children were killed during the nighttime fighting. At least 25 wounded persons were admitted to Mogadishu's Medina Hospital. Al Shabaab military spokesman, Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab, claimed that the insurgents killed 15 AMISOM peacekeepers and 30 Somali soldiers. He did not say the number of...