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Terror Networks
Al-Qaeda boss Zawahiri urges support for Somalia rebels
2012-11-07
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
has urged all Mohammedans to support Somalia's Islamist Al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
myrmidons, the SIE monitoring website reported Tuesday.

The Shabaab, a group which has been battling the Western-backed government in Somalia and proclaims allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has in recent months suffered several major setbacks.

An offensive led by African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
troops has stripped the Shabaab of most of their former bastions, including the southern port of Kismayu, a key asset Kenyan forces wrested back just over a month ago.

"This is a flagrant Crusader invasion of the Mohammedan countries and it makes jihad obligatory on every Mohammedan who is capable in Somalia and its surroundings and in the rest of the world until the invaders are expelled," the SITE Intelligence Group quoted Zawahiri as saying.

"Don't worry about the numbers of the Crusaders and their equipment, for these are spoils of war that are brought to you by the help of Allah," Zawahiri said.

"Therefore, make them taste the fire of jihad and its heat. Pursue them with guerrilla warfare, ambushes and martyrdom-seekers."

The website said the Shabaab had also posted several messages on the Internet vowing to intensify attacks in Mogadishu.

Since the Shabaab abandoned fixed positions in Mogadishu last year, under pressure from African Union troops, the war-ravaged seaside capital has been slowly coming back to life.

The Shabaab once controlled up to 80 percent of southern and central Somalia and the recent African offensive dashed their hopes of taking power.
Posted by:Fred

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