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Eid News from the Shabab

The Somali Shabab al-Mujahidin just released its “Eid gift” to all Muslims: a video dedicated and pledging allegiance to Usama Bin Laden. (The video is also on youtube).

The production is subtitled in English and features the now famous Abu Mansour al-Amriki. One of the targeted audiences is obviously the English-speaking one, which makes sense now that the number of Somali-Americans killed fighting for the Shabab has reached six. But the main message is the commitment to al-Qaida’s global jihad, which  is not new in essence, but was never previously expressed with such emphasis. My initial analysis is that the Shabab, despite its conspicuous allegiance to Al-Qaida’s emir, is meeting the latter halfway, while echoing his harsh attack, last March, against the Somali president. The release of the video may also be an effort to counter the negative impact of the killing of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan on 14 September (even though the video was produced before the US strike).

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10 Responses

  1. Several British Somalis have also joined Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen, even appearing in some of its videos.

    The apparent sixth American (from Minnesota) to be killed fighting with the group, Troy Kastigar, was not Somali, unlike the others who have or are believed to have been killed in the country. He was a white convert.

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