Somalia's Al-Shebaab: a local-turned-international menace
A daring attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi brought Somalia's Al-Shebaab group to international limelight as a threat that could go beyond the borders of its own war-torn homeland.
Shortly before noon on Saturday, heavily-armed attackers entered the Westgate Mall, located not far from Nairobi's Central Business District.
They shot at guards manning a car park before storming the building, both through the main entrance and via an underground opening.
The hostage crisis entered its third day on Monday, with security forces still surrounding the building and the attackers continuing to open fire at troops from time to time.
The Shabab militant group in Somalia has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has so far claimed 62 lives, describing it as a response to Kenyan military intervention in Somalia.
But this was not the first attack Al-Shebaab has claimed responsibly for outside Somalia.
In 2010, a double suicide bombing in Uganda's capital, Kampala, killed 76 people watching the 2010 football World Cup final live at two popular venues in the city.
At the time, Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said the attack had come in retaliation for Ugandan military involvement in Somalia.
- Menace
Al-Shabaab - meaning "Youth" in Arabic - was formed as the military wing of the now-defunct Islamic Court Union (ICU), which controlled large swathes of central and southern Somalia in late 2006.
A year later, the ICU forces incurred major losses in the fighting against government forces and Ethiopian troops.
The new changed balance of power forced the ICU to change strategy and form alliance with the political opposition.
The shift led Al-Shabaab to split ranks with the ICU and pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda.
In 2008, the group claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against Somali army posts.
It was soon designated a terrorist group by the US on the ground that it posed "a serious terrorist threat to American and allied interests throughout the Horn of Africa."
The then group's leader Aden Hashi Eyrow was killed in a US strike on the town of Dusamareb, 300km north of the capital Mogadishu.
But Eyrow's death did not have a major impact on the group which managed to seize control over strategic towns in the south.
A year later, Sharif Ahmed, a former leader of the ICU, was sworn in as president of Somalia's transitional government.
But Al-Shabaab accused him of betraying the country and threatened further attacks to topple his government.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group waged several attacks on areas controlled by its alley-turned-foe ICU, and managed to control large parts of Mogadishu.
It also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed 50 people, including Somali security minister Omar Hashi Aden, in June 2009.
Six months later, Al-Shabaab struck again, killing three ministers in an attack on Hotel Shamo.
By 2010, Al-Shabaab was controlling 11 regions in the south and center of the country.
However, following the Kampala bombings, African Union sent more troops to flush away the militant group from the capital.
The drive followed Kenya's incursion into Somalia to prop up the state forces against the group.
Following months-long fighting, the government, backed by the West and the AU, managed to fully control Mogadishu.
But the group kept its presence known in the capital through a 2012 suicide attack on a government compound, which left dozens dead.
Another attack targeted a court compound in Mogadishu in April, leaving 20 people dead.
Two months later, a suicide attack hit the UN offices, leaving many dead and injured.
Al-Shabaab has since been mounting sporadic attacks, before jumping to international headlines once again with the daring Nairobi's attack.
By Nour Jeedi – Anadolu Agency
englishnews@aa.com.tr
