Al-Shabaab (militant group)
| al-Shabaab | |
|---|---|
|
الشباب Participant in the Somali Civil War, the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen, the Yemeni Civil War, and the War on Terror |
|
 Seal Logo  Black Standard used by Al-Shabaab |
|
| Active | 2006 – present |
| Ideology | |
| Leaders |
Ahmad Umar (Abu Ubaidah) (6 September 2014–present) Ahmed Godane † (December 2007–September 2014) |
| Headquarters |
Kismayo (22 August 2008–29 September 2012) Barawe (29 September 2012–5 October 2014) |
| Area of operations | Southern Somalia Yemen |
| Strength | 7,000–9,000 |
| Part of |
 Al-Qaeda
|
| Split from | Islamic Courts Union |
| Allies |
 al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Foreign MujahedeenAllied Democratic Forces |
| Opponents |
State Opponents |
State Opponents
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM; Arabic: حركة الشباب المجاهدين, Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn; Somali: Xarakada Mujaahidiinta Alshabaab, lit. "Mujahideen Youth Movement" or "Movement of Striving Youth"), more commonly known as Al-Shabaab (Arabic: الشباب, lit. '"The Youth" or "The Youngsters"'), is a Salafist jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa. In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda. In February of the year, some of the group's leaders quarreled with Al-Qaeda over the union, and quickly lost ground. Al-Shabaab's troop strength was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 militants in 2014. As of 2015, the group has retreated from the major cities, controlling a few rural areas.
Al-Shabaab is an offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG's Ethiopian military allies. The group describes itself as waging jihad against "enemies of Islam", and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). Al-Shabaab has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. As of June 2012, the US State Department has open bounties on several of the group's senior commanders.
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