May 28, 2012
According to a former commander of the al-Shabaab organization, members of the Somali diaspora in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States are being actively recruited to launch attacks against these countries. The information comes from Mary Harper reporting for the BBC, who spoke to former al-Shabaab member Mohamaed Farah al Ansari. Farah al Ansari has entered a protection program with the interim government of Somalia after ceasing activities with al-Shabaab.
An offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, al-Shabaab’s presence in Somalia consists of approximately 14,000 militants, who oppose “enemies of Islam” and combat the country’s Transitional Federal Government and the African Union Mission to Somalia.
