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Islamist Al-Shabab 2.0 Threatens Somalia

Al-Qaeda-linked Somali terrorist group al-Shabab is more lethal than ever.
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) secure the scene of a suicide bomb attack outside the United Nations compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, June 19, 2013. A suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked a United Nations compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, police and witnesses said, in a strike that bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda-linked militants. REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW MILITARY) - RTX10TBM

The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist al-Shabab group has been waging a war in Somalia for nearly a decade. Its depredations have spilled over into neighboring countries, propelling Kenya and Uganda to send ground troops to contain the threat and uproot al-Shabab from inside. The battalion is now known as the African Union Mission of Somalia, or AMISOM. After years of relentless pursuit, it has started crushing the Islamist group from region to region, pushing al-Shabab militants into the bush.

But al-Shabab’s latest outrages — a truck bomb at the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu, the assault of a UN compound, the storming of government buildings and the escalating assassinations of government officials, district commissioners and other politicians — illustrate that, after years in retreat, al-Shabab is re-emerging and conducting a more lethal and asymmetrical guerrilla form of warfare.

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