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.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Thousands of people in speeding trucks or pulling carts piled high with clothes and furniture fled a region north of Mogadishu Thursday amid the sounds of gunfire and explosions as government troops and their allies tried to take more ground from Islamist insurgents. The Afgoye corridor has been a shelter for hundreds of thousands of people seeking relief from violence that has plagued Mogadishu the last several years. African Union and Somali forces pushed al-Shabab militants out of Mogadishu last August and are now trying to seize...

NAIROBI, Kenya — Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the American-educated prime minister of Somalia, resigned yesterday after weeks of pressure to abide by a deal between two other top officials that extended Somalia’s wobbly transitional government for another year. Mohamed, who studied in Buffalo, N.Y., and served as a commissioner for the Municipal Housing Authority there, was appointed eight months ago as prime minister of one of the world’s most chaotic countries. Western diplomats said was one of the more capable and professional politicians in Somalia and attributed his departure to backroom...

Thousands of people in speeding trucks or pulling carts piled high with clothes and furniture fled a region north of Mogadishu on Thursday amid the sounds of gunfire and explosions as government troops and their allies tried to take more ground from Islamist insurgents. The Afgoye corridor has been a shelter for hundreds of thousands of people seeking relief from violence that has plagued Mogadishu the last several years. African Union and Somali forces pushed al-Shabab militants out of Mogadishu last August and are now trying to seize areas outside of Mogadishu.

NAIROBI -- A recruiting video issued by members of the fundamentalist Islamic movement in Somalia shows Arab radicals fighting alongside the local extremists in Mogadishu and invites Muslims from around the world to join in their "holy jihad. " The video, obtained by The Associated Press, provides the first hard evidence that non-Somalis have joined with Islamic extremists in Somalia. The Supreme Islamic Courts Council, which defeated US-backed warlords in Mogadishu last month and is now the country's most powerful force, has repeatedly denied links to extremists such as Al Qaeda.

LONDON - World leaders pledged new help to tackle terrorism and piracy in Somalia, but said yesterday that the troubled East African nation must quickly form a stable government and threatened penalties against those who hamper its progress. Nations pledged new funding, more training for soldiers and coast guards, increased cooperation against terrorism, and a drive to root out those involved in piracy, after the shipping industry paid out $135 million in ransoms last year. "For two decades Somalia has been torn apart by famine, bloodshed, and some of...

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali lawmakers pleaded yesterday for international military intervention within 24 hours to help fight Islamic insurgents in the lawless African nation, where fierce fighting has resumed in the capital. A suicide attack in western Somalia killed the country’s national security minister and four other government officials Thursday. And battles between rebels and government troops have left at least 10 people dead in Mogadishu since Friday, witnesses said.

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Attack helicopters strafed suspected Al Qaeda fighters in southern Somalia yesterday, according to witnesses, following two days of air strikes by US forces -- the first American offensives in the African country since 18 American soldiers were killed here in 1993. In Washington, a US intelligence official said American forces killed five to 10 people in an attack on one target in southern Somalia believed to be associated with Al Qaeda. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the operation's sensitivity, said a small number of others...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ethiopia sent fighter jets into Somalia and bombed several towns and the capital's airport in a dramatic attack on Somalia's powerful Islamic movement, and Ethiopia's prime minister said yesterday his country had been "forced to enter a war. " It was the first time Ethiopia acknowledged its troops were fighting for Somalia's UN-backed interim government, even though witnesses had been reporting their presence for weeks in...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- An award-winning Swedish journalist was fatally shot in the back as he filmed a demonstration yesterday in the restive capital of Somalia, where lawlessness and anger at foreigners run high despite peace efforts. An unidentified gunman came up from behind and fired a single shot from close range at Martin Adler, a veteran photographer, reporter, and television cameraman. Adler, 47, was covering a crowd hailing a deal between the largely powerless, UN-backed transitional government and the Islamic leaders who control Mogadishu and most of...

Ethiopia's federal court ruled Thursday that 11 people should face terror charges after prosecutors said they formed a cell with an al-Qaida-linked group from neighboring Somalia. The charges come amid signs of increasing militancy in the East African nation. Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia at the beginning of the year to fight the Somali militant group al-Shabab. Prosecutors said the suspects, who include one Kenyan national, formed a cell with the al-Qaida-linked group.

American military advisers in Uganda are drawing on lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan to help train African Union soldiers to fight Somalia's most powerful insurgent group, al-Shabab. Earlier this year, a small contingent of U.S. Marines joined American military contractors at a training base nestled in Uganda's rolling countryside about 2 ½ hours drive from the capital, helping fill gaps where the al-Qaida-linked fighters have found weaknesses. The base, called Singo, was built by the U.S. and is a key part of the Obama administration's strategy to...

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...

Hundreds of Kenyan youth who have trained with al-Qaida-linked militants in neighboring Somalia have returned home and now pose a major security threat to this East African nation, a top police official said Friday. Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said that a Kenyan man trained by al-Shabab militants in Somalia hurled a grenade into a church last Sunday, killing two people and wounding 15. Iteere released a photo of a man known only by the alias Amar. He said witnesses at the church were able to identify Amar as the person who threw the grenade Sunday.

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.

NAIROBI — The US government warned Monday that a terror attack on prominent government buildings and hotels in Kenya's capital could be imminent. The US Embassy in Kenya said the timing of the attack is not known but American officials believe it to be in its final planning stages. They did not give further details. The embassy urged Americans to be vigilant. Al Shabab militants from neighboring Somalia, who are linked to Al Qaeda, have vowed to carry out an attack on Kenya for sending troops into Somalia.

KISMAYO, Somalia -- Islamic fighters abandoned the last major town they held early today and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border while government forces approached slowly because of land mines, residents and the government spokesman said. The Islamic forces began to disintegrate after a night of artillery attacks at the front line and following a mutiny within its ranks, witnesses said. "The Islamists have fled Kismayo and our troops are on the way," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ethiopian troops whose military strength was crucial to helping Somalia's government drive out a radical Islamic militia began withdrawing yesterday , raising fears of a power vacuum unless peacekeepers arrive soon in this chaotic nation. Abdirahman Dinari, a Somali government spokesman said Ethiopia helped chase out the Council of Islamic Courts militia, which had taken over the capital and much of southern Somalia. But it was time for the neighboring forces to leave.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A blast rocked a vegetable market in Somalia's third-largest city, killing at least 12 people and wounding 30, officials said Monday. Al Shabab, the country's top militant group, claimed responsibility. The blast was caused by a roadside bomb, Baidoa police officer Abdullahi Ahmed said. Witness Nur Yusuf said the bomb was concealed in a beverage container placed along the street where he sells vegetables. "It was a cowardly attack targeting civilians," Ahmed said.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A bomb exploded at a ceremony Wednesday at the newly reopened National Theater in the Somali capital as the prime minister addressed guests, turning an event that had been a sign of growing calm into a grisly reminder of the many troubles still plaguing the country. Somalia's ministry of information said four people, including two prominent sports officials, were killed. Several journalists and a lawmaker were wounded. Officials said the prime minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, was unhurt.