The Fight Against Al Shabaab in Somalia in 2016 (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Jan. 19, 2016 |
| Report Number |
IN10432 |
| Report Type |
Insight |
| Authors |
Blanchard, Lauren Ploch |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Al Shabaab, a Somalia-based Al Qaeda affiliate, recently made headlines with a recruitment video featuring footage of the late American jihadist ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, Malcolm X, the Ku Klux Klan, and Donald Trump. It cited purported anti-Muslim sentiment and racism in the United States, calling on black Americans to convert to Islam, and venerated the 'Minnesotan Martyrs,' a group of young, mostly ethnic Somali American men who joined Al Shabaab and died in Somalia. The video's attempt to manipulate grievances in the United States mirrors the approach of a February 2015 Al Shabaab video targeting neighboring Kenya's Muslim minority for recruitment and calling for followers in the West to attack shopping malls in the United States, England, and France. The latest video's release came weeks after the most recent reported U.S. air strikes against the group in Somalia.
