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MiddleEastMonitor.com: UN: Daesh in Somalia is expanding

Posted by: Berhane Habtemariam

Date: Thursday, 09 November 2017

UN: Daesh in Somalia is expanding

November 9, 2017 at 2:37 pm |
Somalian security forces inspect wreckage of a vehicle at the site after bomb-laden vehicle attack at Waberi district in Mogadishu, Somalia on July 30, 2017 [Sadak Mohamed / Anadolu Agency]
Somalian security forces inspect a vehicle after a bomb-laden vehicle attack took place in Mogadishu, Somalia on 30 July 2017 [Sadak Mohamed / Anadolu Agency]
November 9, 2017 at 2:37 pm

The Daesh group in Somalia has increased from a dozen to some 200 foot soldiers this year, a UN report obtained by Reuters said.

“The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) faction loyal to Sheikh Abdulqader Mumin – estimated … in 2016 to number not more than a few dozen…, has growing significantly in strength, and [now] consists of as many as 200 fighters,” said the report.

The Daesh group has received orders and money from Daesh headquarters in Syria and Iraq, the UN report added. Daesh in Somalia is made up of Somali nationals, although it is believed a Sudanese man sanctioned by the US has joined the group. There are fears that links to Yemen may have led to an influx of fighters joining the group in Somalia.

“Even a few hundred armed fighters could destabilise the whole region,” a security source said. “It [air strikes] is recognition from the US that the situation in terms of the [Islamic State] faction in Puntland is becoming increasingly critical.”

Some 1,000 African Union Mission (AMISOM) troops in Somalia will withdraw by the end of the year, increasing the threat of terror attacks.

On 3 November, media reported that the US executed counter-terrorism drone strikes against Daesh fighters in Somalia for the first time killing “several terrorist”, US Africa Command said. But an unidentified aircraft targeted Daesh fighters based in north-eastern Somalia back in August. The US did not claim responsibility for the strikes.

Somalia’s primary non-state armed group is Al-Shabaab, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012. Al-Shabaab regularly conducts attacks in the capital in civilian populated areas. There is a major rift between Daesh and Al-Qaeda’s leadership as seen in the early days of the Syria and Iraq conflict. No confrontation between the groups in Somalia has taken place.


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