All Blog Posts from Internet Terror Monitor

Islamist militants in the Somali city of Kissmayo pledged allegiance to al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement posted on a Somali jihadi blog. “The Islamic administration of Kissmayo, under the command of Sheikh Abu Bakr Zayla'I, pledged allegiance to Sheikh Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda leaders, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al-Libi God protect them all,” the statement said.

The allegiance oath came in an audio statement voiced by the Deputy leader of al Shabab Kissmayo division, Abdel Ghani Mohammad Yousuf, and aired on a local radio station called “al Andalus Islamic Radio.” He said that the group did not “fear the infidels of America and their allies, nor did they fear the apostate government in Somalia. “

The deputy leader announced in his radio address that his group gets its religious edicts from the leaders of al Qaeda. “I say to the Somali people that our jihad is an integral part of that of our brethren in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said. He added that “every aspect of jihad management in Somalia” was for senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed had told a press conference in Mogadishu last month that foreign fighters had joined the ranks of Shabab al Mujahideen group and appealed to the international community for help.

This is the first time that Islamist militants in Somalia openly associate themselves with al Qaeda, despite previous indications of cooperation and coordination between the two groups.

In March 2009, bin Laden released an audiotape that he dedicated entirely to Somalia, which reflected his interest and that of al Qaeda in the country. In the tape, Bin Laden lashed out at the newly elected Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and urged Somali militants to overthrow him.

The leader of the Somali militant group Shabab al Mujahdieen Sheikh Mukhtaar Abu Zubayr rejected the government’s plan to implement Islamic law in the country and pledged to continue to fight till it is implemented not only in Somalia, but throughout the whole world.

“We shall continue our fight and the wars shall continue to rage until shari’a is implemented in all continents and until Muslims free Jerusalem,” Mukhtar Abu Zubayr said. He also pledged to continue working on removing Shaikh Ahmad’s government which does not deserve to be called “Islamic,” according to him.

Abu Zubayr’s statements came in a 10-minute audiotape distributed by Shabab al Mujahideen and aired on local radio stations in Somalia.

Shabab al Mujahideen claimed in an Internet statement two days ago they were close to taking full control of the capital Mogadishu. On one of the group’s websites, it showed pictures of government soldiers captured by the militants. A caption accompanying a picture read, “Sharif is left with a bunch of criminals and a few tired old men to fight for him, how can he hope to defeat the mujahideen of Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam?”

Somalia’s Shabab al Mujahideen movement released an Internet statement claiming responsibility for a mortar attack that targeted the port of Mogadishu on the morning of April 11th.

“We received intelligence about a large ship carrying weapons for the African mercenaries from the AMISOM, docking at the main port in the capital,” the statement said, adding that the port was targeted with dozens of 82 mm mortars that hit their targets, and claiming that smoke was seen rising from the port.”

The General Secretary of al Qaeda in Yemen, Saeed al Shihri, had called on Somali militants to intensify their attacks at sea in a tape acquired by CBS News last week.

The militant Somali Shabab al Mujahideen group released an Internet statement claiming responsibility for the mortar attack on Mogadishu airport, and claiming the attack actually targeted visiting U.S. congressman Donald Payne.

“A delegation from the Zionist-Crusader congress led by Donald Payne landed at the airport of the Capital, and the mujahideen’s intelligence gathered information about the visit since the early hours of Monday,” the statement said, “The mujahideen bombed the airport from different positions, causing Mr. Donald and his accompanying dogs, to be stranded at the airport for a while till they finally managed to escape,” it added.

The militant Islamist Somali group Shabab al Mujahedeen Movement has released a new video featuring a man identified as Sheikh Abu Mansour the “American," who was seen giving a study circle in fluent Arabic and English.

Abu Mansour was also seen talking to the group's media coordinator, as well as while giving orders to one of the operative to make a tactical retreat. Towards the end of the clip, a masked Shabab operative speaking English calls on the youth to “come and live the life of the mujahedeen.”

The tape presents another propaganda strategy aimed at encouraging more Somalis to join the group.

The FBI is currently searching for a number of Somali men who lived in Minnesota, who are believed to have traveled to Somalia to join al Shabab.

The Somali militant group Shabab al Mujahideen claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted African Union peacekeeping forces in the capital Mogadishu yesterday.

“The commandoes unit of Shaba al Mujahideen launched an attack on the morning of March 12, on the former headquarters of the Ummah University, used by Burundian forces from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM),” the Internet statement said.

AMISOM acknowledged that its Burundian forces’ headquarters came under attack, but assured that there were no casualties amongst the soldiers. It also claimed that the militants suffered casualties. In their statement, the militants admitted that one of their men was killed in the attack.

The Somali militant group Shabab al Mujahideen released a new video that shows three IED attacks carried out by the group against Ethiopian and AU peacekeeping forces. The video is entitle “The Crusaders and Apostates Inferno in Somalia.”

It is not common to see IED attacks in Somali jihadi videos, where small firearm weapons, machine guns and RPGs are usually the weapons of choice. This new technique may have been imported from Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Somali militant group Shabab al Mujahideen released an internet statement announcing that they seized the state of Shbilie, and declared it an "Islamic State." The group has been conquering more areas that are under government’s control across the country. Recently, they claimed that it was a matter of just a few days before they conquered the capital Mogadishu. The statement said that five judges have been named to oversee the implementation of Islamic law in Shbilie.

The Somali militant group Shabab al Mujahedeen released a new video showing the final statement of a suicide bomber and some footage of him at a training camp. The 30-minute tape was issued by al Olsra Army, the group’s media department, and features a man called Abdel Aziz, who is also known as Saad according to the video.

“My name is Saad…and I’m a terrorist,” whispers the suicide bomber in one of the night shots seen on the tape. The cameraman then asks in English “What are you going to do right now?” “We want to go and hit some infidels,” Abdel Aziz answers giggling.

On the tape, the suicide bomber is also seen firing rifles at a training camp with other militants. He makes his final statement in English and denounces Ethiopian and peacekeeping forces operating in Somalia, saying that their mission was mainly to protect the transitional government. He also warns that there will be more suicide operations against armies “occupying Muslims’ land” until the withdrawal of their forces. He then appears making his final goodbyes to the other militants before getting behind the wheel of his explosives-laden Toyota and driving away.

The video ends with a wide shot of some buildings and a big ball of fire going up behind one of them. It does not specify the date or the target of the attack but comes a day after a wave suicide bombings in northern Somalia, including one against the U.N. offices and a presidential palace, which left 19 people dead.

Somalia’s Mujahideen Youths movement claimed responsibility for the killing of seven Ugandan AU peacekeepers in an attack on their headquarters at the premises of the old Egyptian Embassy near Mogadishu airport on August 20th. “Let them know that it is not their decision to declare a ceasefire, nor is it the decision of their masters at the U.N.,” said the Internet statement issued by the group. “It is our duty to keep fighting until the whole faith is completely for Allah.” The statement also claimed responsibility for the killing of five Ethiopian troops in the town of Baldwein in central Somalia.