Free Republic

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s father was a “feared” colonel in the Somali National Army (SNA), far from the “educator” he was presented to Americans as, a veteran who served in his regiment claimed to The Post. Nur Omar Mohamed has been accused of hiding his military past from US authorities when he arrived and claimed asylum with his family in 1995 — which could have disqualified him from claiming refugee status. A retired military officer still living in Somalia has spoken out for the first time to shed light on the “career soldier” who was a trusted operator in dictator Siad...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A powerful Islamist group linked to al-Qaida on Wednesday ordered two radio stations in southwestern Somalia to stop broadcasts indefinitely. Al-Shabab delivered letters to Jubba and Warsan Radio stations early Wednesday ordering the shut down without giving any reasons, said Mohamed Adawe, a journalist with Jubba Radio. Another Jubba Radio journalist, Abdikarin Jakarta, said the letters threatened the stations with unspecified action if they disobeyed the closure orders.

Revealed: British Muslim student killed 20 in suicide bomb attack in Somalia By Daily Mail Reporter 16th February 2009 Wave of terrorism: Somali men are taught how to use assault rifles. MI5 fears dozens of extremists have returned to Britain from terror training camps in the war-torn country A university student who became a suicide bomber in Somalia is believed to be the first of a new wave of British-based Islamic terrorism. The 21-year-old reportedly blew himself up at a military checkpoint killing up to 20 soldiers in the southern Somali town of Baidoa. Raised in Britain, the unnamed bomber...

An al Qaeda militant who planned the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike, Somali official tells AP.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A fundamentalist Muslim who is listed by the U.S. State Department as a suspected al-Qaida collaborator was named Saturday as the new leader of an Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia's capital. The militia, which changed its name Saturday from the Islamic Courts Union to the Conservative Council of Islamic Courts, said in a statement it had appointed Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys as its new leader. The Bush administration says Aweys was an associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s. The Islamic militia seized control of the capital Mogadishu and much of southern...