Al-Shabaab insurgent group
| al-Shabaab | |
|---|---|
|
الشباب
Participant in
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 Seal Logo  Black Standard used by al-Shabaab |
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| Active | 2006–present |
| Ideology |
Salafi jihadism Wahhabism Anti-Zionism Antisemitism |
| Political position | Islamist |
| Leaders |
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| Headquarters | |
| Area of operations | Southern Somalia and Yemen |
| Size | 4,000–6,000 (2014 estimate) 7,000 - 9,000 (2017 estimate) |
| Part of |
 Al-Qaeda
|
| Split from | Islamic Courts Union |
| Allies |
State Allies Non-state Allies |
| Opponents |
State Opponents |
State Allies
Non-state Allies
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", but can be translated as "The Guys"'), is a 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 . 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, however Al Shabaab stills controls large parts of the rural areas.
Al-Shabaab began as the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which later 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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Wikipedia