Somalia attack

Chicago Tribune, 'It's a dark day for us': 276 killed in deadliest single attack in Somalia's history

Graphic: @MuslimGirl

'Inspire' and other magazines

strategypage.com, Information Warfare: Deadly Demographics Doom Online Magazines " Resurgence and Al Somood appealed to a specific audience (Somali, Afghan and Pakistani expatriates in English speaking countries) to mainly obtain recruits for al Shabaab and the Taliban. All three of these publications attracted a lot of attention from the mass media and politicians but otherwise were ineffective. For example not a lot of captured Islamic terrorists note these magazines as being an influence on them. The same pattern was found when analyzing online “chatter” among active Islamic terrorists. Some Islamic terrorist groups noted this and tried to adapt." Opinoin about the 'effectiveness' of Inspire and other magazines.

Trump Used in Jihadist Recruitment Video

thedailybeast.com, Trump Used in Jihadist Recruitment Vid, 1 Jan 2016 "Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Muslims and Syrian refugees is at the center of a new terrorist recruitment video put out by the Somalian jihadist group al Shabaab. Trump’s guest appearance is preceded by an old clip of U.S.-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki warning that the West will become the land of “religious discrimination and concentration camps.”"

al-Shabaab and technology

BBC News, How Somalia’s al-Shabab militants hone their image "A recent al-Shabab directive that all its members change their mobile phone numbers shows how tech-savvy the al-Qaeda-linked Somali Islamist group remains and how their communications strategy is key to their survival."

Al Shabab Bans Internet In Somalia

Reuters/huffingtonpost.com, Al Shabab Bans Internet In Somalia, 9 Jan 2014: "Somali rebel group al Shabaab has banned the use of the Internet in the Horn of Africa country, giving telecom operators 15 days to comply with the order, the militants said."

Twitter pulls Shebab accounts as group boasts of Kenya attack

Twitter pulls Shebab accounts as group boasts of Kenya attack | AFP/The Raw Story "Twitter has now suspended the account, but others quickly sprung up in what one analyst likened to an online version of Whac-A-Mole."

al-Shabaab Smartphone ban

sabahionline.com, Al-Shabaab says smartphones used 'to spy on Muslim people', 14 Nov 2013 " ... Mumin Gabow, a 60-year-old traditional elder from El Bur, said he was angry about al-Shabaab's anti-smartphone campaign.

""First, I am an old man and I do not use these phones that al-Shabaab is allegedly banning people from using, claiming the phones are used for spying," Gabow told Sabahi. "But I am very sad about it because it is good for a human being to use any kind of phone he desires. The most important reason to carry a phone is to speak on it, and in my opinion, I think al-Shabaab is using any kind of lie to destroy the progress people have made.""

'al-Shabab threat'

BBC News, UK Muslims warned of militant al-Shabab threat, 18 Oct 2013 "British Muslims who speak out against extremism are being warned that they could be targeted by members of the Somali militant group al-Shabab." Update: Sky News, Al Shabaab Video Threatens British Muslims, 19 Oct 2013 Also see The Blaze, New Terrorist Video Urges Western Muslims to Emulate London Terror Attack, Fort Hood Shooting – Should We Be Worried?, 17 Oct 2013 opinion and analysis (+ link to 'safe copy' of video)

Lewthwaite

Daily Mail, Revealed: White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite surfed internet for make-up and 'how to burn fat fast' as she 'masterminded Nairobi terror attack', 14 Oct 2013

Bergen on Twitter

Peter Bergen, CNN, Are mass murderers using Twitter as a tool? "The next logical step will be for terrorists to cover their deadly operations using their own real-time live video feeds linked to sites such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube."

al-Shabaab "recruitment drive"

Jon Swaine, Telegraph, Al-Shabaab's American recruitment drive: 'Betray the US and join "the real Disneyland" of African jihad' "Teenage boys in America's biggest Somali community are being urged to betray the United States and join "the real Disneyland" of African jihad, in a recruitment drive by al-Shabaab."

Shabaab finance squeeze

Reuters, Shabaab finances face squeeze after Kenya attack "Al Shabaab emerged as a regional threat funded by millions of dollars from activities ranging from extortion to taxing charcoal exports, but its attack on a Kenyan shopping mall is expected to provoke a counter-terrorism response aimed at crippling the Somali Islamist group's finances."

Samantha Lewthwaite

NBC News, Interpol issues 'Red Notice' for Britain's terror widow on behalf of Kenyan authorities "While the Interpol notice does not specifically cite the mall attacks, Lewthwaite was mentioned on al Shabaab’s Twitter feed before the post was taken down late Sunday.

 “@HSM-PRESSOFFICE2: Sherafiyah lewthwaite aka Samantha is a very vrave (sic) lady,” it read. “were happier to have her in our ranks #westgate #AlShabaab COWARDS!”"

Battle To Save US Youth From 'Jihadi Pipeline'

Greg Milam, Sky News, Battle To Save US Youth From 'Jihadi Pipeline', 26 Sep 2013 "Authorities in the American city regarded as the 'jihadi pipeline' for terror group al Shabaab say they are winning the battle to prevent young men being recruited." Includes reference to internet influence.

Al-Shabaab and Social Media

There's been a great deal of conjecture about al-Shabaab's use of social media during the phases of the Westgate siege in Nairobi, as events have played out. Some of that is reflected below, in opinions and analysis. This is a logical progression from use of diverse web tools by 'jihad' oriented groups over the years, many of whom integrate social media into their activities (representatives of al-Shabaab having been particularly proactive in this sphere, as evidenced in other posts in this blog - click the label below to see more). 

I shall be writing about this issue again in due course, for a forthcoming project (I've been gathering material in the interim). There's some reference to al-Qaeda (+ affiliates) and social media in my chapter for Jeffrey Kenney and Ebrahim Moosa's edited book "Islam in the Modern World" (Routledge, 2013) - as well as my earlier work. 

Here's a few links which discuss this particular aspect of events (content does not necessarily reflect my personal opinions).  

Mail & Guardian, Tweets stream in over Kenya's Westgate mall shooting

BBC News, Authorities and militants take Nairobi battle to Twitter

BBC World Service, Is There a Link Between Terror Attacks in Kenya and Pakistan?, 24 Sep 2013 includes podcast available for download (for 7 days after broadcast)  (which also includes a contribution by Lisa Curtis of the 'Heritage Foundation', who wrote a blog post entitled Pakistan and Kenya Terrorist Attacks: Is There a Link?).  

techpresident.com, The Western Voices of al-Shabaab's Twitter Account "The al-Shabaab, known for their pernicious recruitment of child soldiers, hand chopping and stoning of girls, opened their first Twitter account two years ago and has been shut down a number of times since. What is striking about their tweets is their native and even high-brow use of the English-language. Words and phrases like "minuscule in nature" and "sangfroid" do not seem to belong to the language of violent jihadists."

Update: MEMRI, List Of Nairobi Attackers, Including Westerners, Published On Social Media

al-Shabaab attack (follow-up)

Daily Mail, Ally of world's most wanted woman the White Widow is shot dead in Somalia raid: Briton killed by rival Islamic militants, 13 Sep 2013 "A British bomb-maker on the run with the widow of a London 7/7 bomber is believed to have been killed in a gun battle in Somalia.

"Habib Ghani, 28, was ambushed along with one of America’s most wanted terrorists in a dawn raid after falling out with commanders from militant group al-Shabab."

Abu Mansoor al-Amriki killed (?)

US-born 'jihadist rapper' Omar Hammami reportedly killed in Somalia | World news | theguardian.com "A rapping jihadist from Alabama who ascended the ranks of Somalia's al-Qaida-linked militant group and was on the FBI's most wanted list with a $5m (£3.2m) reward for his capture was reportedly killed on Thursday in an ambush ordered by the militant group's leader." Click on the tab below for more reports about Hammani from over the past few years.

@abumamerican

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Al-Amriki and Foreign Fighters in Showdown With Al-Shabaab Leader "In a desperate series of tweets Monday evening, al-Amriki, using the Twitter handle @abumamerican, bid farewell to the world as al-Shabaab fighters loyal to Godane allegedly stood poised to kill him and his followers."

'American Shabaab fighters urges Muslims to join the 'fronts' of jihad'

longwarjournal.org, American Shabaab fighters urges Muslims to join the 'fronts' of jihad, 27 Feb 2013 "A previously unidentified American who fights in the ranks of Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, appeared on a videotape and urged Muslims to join on of the numerous fronts of the global jihad."

Twitter account of al Shabaab Somali militant group is closed

IDG, Twitter account of al Shabaab Somali militant group is closed, 28 Jan 2013 "The Twitter account of Somali Islamic militant group al Shabaab has been closed following the group's use of the microblogging site to link to videos of Kenyan hostages, mock rivals and claim responsibility for several bombings in Kenya."