Shabab

A Kenyan official says a German man is sought for questioning about the activities of an al-Qaida-linked militia group. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in a statement Saturday that Ahmed Khaled Mueller is wanted for questioning over the criminal activities of the Somalia-based al-Shabab militia. He says Mueller may be armed and goes by the aliases Andreas Martin Muller and Abu Nusaibah. Kiraithe says Mueller may have entered the country illegally. Al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous insurgent group, has threatened to bomb Kenya for sending troops into Somalia.

A Kenyan official says a German man is sought for questioning about the activities of an al-Qaida-linked militia group. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in a statement Saturday that Ahmed Khaled Mueller is wanted for questioning over the criminal activities of the Somalia-based al-Shabab militia. He says Mueller may be armed and goes by the aliases Andreas Martin Muller and Abu Nusaibah. Kiraithe says Mueller may have entered the country illegally. Al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous insurgent group, has threatened to bomb Kenya for sending troops into Somalia.

Kenya's military says its forces killed three militant fighters from al-Shabab in a battle in Somalia. Military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said Wednesday that one Kenyan soldier was also killed in the battle. Chirchir said that Kenyan and Somali troops are advancing north. Kenyan troops entered Somalia in mid-October to attack al-Shabab militants and have been supported by Somalia's weak army. Since then Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia on the country's west, who along with African Union troops in Mogadishu are squeezing al-Shabab fighters on three sides.

Mortar shells likely fired by insurgents crashed into civilian homes overnight in Somalia's capital, killing seven people, including four children, witnesses said Tuesday. A father, mother and their two children died in one home, and a mother and her 8-year-old child died in a nearby house, said Abdinur Hashi, a resident in the Hodan district of Mogadishu. A fourth child also died after suffering serious wounds caused by shrapnel. Some of the bodies were wrapped in white shrouds at daylight.

Residents say Somali Islamist rebels have beheaded at least 11 civilians in the capital in the past two weeks. They said Friday the attacks are designed to show the insurgency can still act in Mogadishu after withdrawing from their bases there earlier this month. The al-Shabab rebels said the retreat was a ‘tactical withdrawal' after coming under pressure from more heavily armed African Union troops. Resident Afrah Abdikhayre says five decapitated bodies were found in his Suqa Holaha area last week.

An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group says it poses no threat to an American jihadi who appears on a web video saying his comrades want to kill him. The al-Shabab militant group late Saturday posted on one of the websites it commonly uses that they posed no threat to U.S.-born Omar Hammami. Hammami, known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki, or "the American," appears in an undated video saying he has disagreed with his al-Shabab comrades on Islam's Sharia law and strategy. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

NAIROBI - An Islamic insurgent group that controls much of this lawless nation has released a video showing its members vowing allegiance to Osama bin Laden, training in dusty camps, and slamming Somalia’s US-backed president as a traitor. The tape was released late Sunday by al-Shabab, an insurgent group that last week hit the African Union peacekeeping base with suicide car bombs, killing 21 people in the deadliest single attack on peacekeepers since they arrived in 2007. Al-Shabab announced the Thursday attack at Mogadishu’s airport was in retaliation for a US commando raid on...

KAMPALA, Uganda — East Africa saw the emergence of a new international terrorist group yesterday, as Somalia’s most dangerous Al Qaeda-linked militia claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people during the World Cup. The claim by al-Shabab, whose fighters are trained by militant veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, resets the security equation in East Africa and has broader implications worldwide....

A Kenyan military spokesman says that eight Kenyan serviceman have been killed since Kenya sent troops into Somalia a month ago. Col. Cyrus Oguna says that three were killed by Somali gunmen and five died in a helicopter crash at the start of the operation. Three more have been wounded. He told journalists Saturday that Somalis were helping Kenyan soldiers find the bases of Somalia's al-Shabab insurgents. He said there had been four gun battles between Kenyan troops and al-Shabab militants this week.

Kenyan police say they have arrested an imam after they found a cache of weapons in his house. The chief of police for the coastal region says the suspect is a sympathizer of Somalia's al-Shabab militia. Deputy Commissioner Aggrey Adoli says the haul included a pistol, a rifle, detonators and hand grenades. Aboud Rogo was named in a U.N. report last year as having links to al-Shabab, and is on bail for possession of weapons. But Rogo's wife Khania Saidi Sagar says police framed her husband.

One person died and 15 people were wounded when a grenade was thrown into a church in Kenya's capital during Sunday service, an official said. Nairobi's deputy police chief, Moses Ombati, said the grenade exploded at God's House of Miracles International Church in Nairobi. Doctors at Nairobi's Kenyatta Hospital said they had treated 11 patients wounded in the attack. None of the injuries were life-threatening, said a doctor who refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group says it poses no threat to an American jihadi who appears on a web video saying his comrades want to kill him. The al-Shabab militant group late Saturday posted on one of the websites it commonly uses that they posed no threat to U.S.-born Omar Hammami. Hammami, known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki, or "the American," appears in an undated video saying he has disagreed with his al-Shabab comrades on Islam's Sharia law and strategy. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

A lawyer says Kenyan police have arrested a man and three teenagers over a weekend explosion at a bus stop that killed six people. Mbugua Mureithi said Monday that police arrested Sylvester Opiyo and three teens on Sunday. Opiyo turned himself in to police in December after authorities said he was wanted. He was then released without charge. Mureithi said police are arresting "the usual suspects" and it was unclear what evidence linked Opiyo to the attack. Police did not answer calls seeking comment.

Hundreds of Somalis are gathering at a militant-organized demonstration on the outskirts of Mogadishu in support of the merger of the Somali militant group al-Shabab with al-Qaida. Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told those gathered at Monday's rally that al-Shabab is happy with its unification with al-Qaida, a merger announced last week by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Several hundred people gathered at the rally, including veiled women and armed, masked men. Rage also said that an upcoming international conference in London on Somalia is being organized to...

Kenyan police say they have arrested an imam after they found a cache of weapons in his house. The chief of police for the coastal region says the suspect is a sympathizer of Somalia's al-Shabab militia. Deputy Commissioner Aggrey Adoli says the haul included a pistol, a rifle, detonators and hand grenades. Aboud Rogo was named in a U.N. report last year as having links to al-Shabab, and is on bail for possession of weapons. But Rogo's wife Khania Saidi Sagar says police framed her husband.

Kenya's military says its forces killed three militant fighters from al-Shabab in a battle in Somalia. Military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said Wednesday that one Kenyan soldier was also killed in the battle. Chirchir said that Kenyan and Somali troops are advancing north. Kenyan troops entered Somalia in mid-October to attack al-Shabab militants and have been supported by Somalia's weak army. Since then Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia on the country's west, who along with African Union troops in Mogadishu are squeezing al-Shabab fighters on three sides.

A lawyer says Kenyan police have arrested a man and three teenagers over a weekend explosion at a bus stop that killed six people. Mbugua Mureithi said Monday that police arrested Sylvester Opiyo and three teens on Sunday. Opiyo turned himself in to police in December after authorities said he was wanted. He was then released without charge. Mureithi said police are arresting "the usual suspects" and it was unclear what evidence linked Opiyo to the attack. Police did not answer calls seeking comment.

A witness says that a Kenyan air force raid killed at least seven people, including a child, in a village in southern Somalia. Town elder Ali Hashi said Wednesday that he saw the bodies in a clinic following a bombing raid in Hosingow. He says one jet appeared to target a base used by al-Shabab insurgents and another bomb hit elsewhere in the village on Tuesday. A Kenyan army spokesman confirmed that two air raids had been carried out but says no civilians were killed. Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir says 17 al-Shabab fighters were killed.

A witness says that a Kenyan air force raid killed at least seven people, including a child, in a village in southern Somalia. Town elder Ali Hashi said Wednesday that he saw the bodies in a clinic following a bombing raid in Hosingow. He says one jet appeared to target a base used by al-Shabab insurgents and another bomb hit elsewhere in the village on Tuesday. A Kenyan army spokesman confirmed that two air raids had been carried out but says no civilians were killed. Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir says 17 al-Shabab fighters were killed.

A Kenyan military spokesman says that eight Kenyan serviceman have been killed since Kenya sent troops into Somalia a month ago. Col. Cyrus Oguna says that three were killed by Somali gunmen and five died in a helicopter crash at the start of the operation. Three more have been wounded. He told journalists Saturday that Somalis were helping Kenyan soldiers find the bases of Somalia's al-Shabab insurgents. He said there had been four gun battles between Kenyan troops and al-Shabab militants this week.