Thursday, December 24, 2015

Somalia's Al Shabab Fractures As 200 Of their Fighters Pledge Allegiance To The Islamic State

The Independent: Isis is turning to Somalia for its latest set of recruits

The Islamic State has already expanded its footprint well beyond Syria and Iraq, with militants in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria and other countries pledging allegiance to the extremists

Two-thousand miles from Syria,the Islamic State is trying to expand its territory by establishing a branch in what its fighters call the “little emirate”: the war-torn country of Somalia.

Winning ground there won’t be easy. Al-Shabab, a Somali group linked to al-Qaeda, has a long-standing presence in the country at Africa’s eastern edge. It has threatened those who join the Islamic State with death. But that hasn’t stopped a trickle of fighters — likely a few dozen — from switching sides, raising concerns among U.S. officials who have invested hundreds of millions of dollars of aid in a new Somali government and a regional military campaign against Islamist extremists.

More News On Al-Shebab Fighters Pledging Allegiance To The Islamic State

Official: 200 Al-Shabab Fighters Pledge Allegiance to IS -- NYT/AP
2,000 miles from Syria, ISIS is trying to lure recruits in Somalia -- Washington Post
Some Shebab Islamists switching ties from Al-Qaeda to IS: Kenya -- AFP

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