Sunday, December 13, 2009

Experts: Somali Islamists improving tactics, bombs

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somali Islamist insurgents have imported terrorist tactics and technology used with deadly results in Iraq and Afghanistan, threatening the African country's beleaguered government and causing alarm as far as Washington.Somali fighters over the past two years have gone from simply throwing grenades into crowded rooms to building advanced remote-controlled bombs. Analysts fear that the transfer of tactics and technology may strengthen ties between Somali Islamists and al-Qaida.The Somali insurgents offer refuge to terrorists and may also provide territory for training for a strike on the West, said Juan Zarate, the former U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism. Recruits in jihadist training camps in Somalia are already taught how to use firearms and explosives, according to local and U.S. officials.The U.S. military wrote an urgent internal report earlier this year after a cache of bomb-making materials with sophisticated triggering devices was found in Somalia."People are very concerned that technology from Iraq and Afghanistan is being transferred to Somalia," said Zarate, who is now a senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.The increasing sophistication of attacks came amid an influx of hundreds of foreign jihadi fighters to the lawless Horn of Africa state over the last year. Experts are uncertain, however, whether the new tactics and technology are being brought by Somalis who fought abroad, freelance jihadi fighters or al-Qaida-linked figures.

In the latest Iraq- or Afghan-style attack, a suicide bomber wearing women's clothing detonated explosives last week during a university graduation in the tiny portion of Mogadishu under government control. The blast killed 24 people, including three Cabinet ministers.Somalia's most dangerous militant group — al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida — denied it was behind the bombing. Taliban militants, blamed for most suicide bombings in Afghanistan, also typically deny responsibility for blasts that kill many civilians and cause outrage."What happens in Somalia is not original tactics, it is a copy of what happens in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Gelle. "We understand where (the insurgents) train and who is sending them ... The coordination and tactics and sophistication comes from al-Qaida."Although Somalia has been at war for nearly two decades, suicide bombs were unheard of there until 2007.The first complex bomb attack in Somalia occurred in October 2008, when five nearly simultaneous suicide bombings claimed 21 lives. Since then, there have been three suicide attacks on African Union peacekeeping bases in the capital, Mogadishu. A suicide bomber also killed the security minister and 24 others in June. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility."They prepare, they plan, they are very smart," Roland Marchal, a Somalia expert at the Center for International Studies and Research in Paris. Marchal said tactics are still crude compared to Iraq and Afghanistan but are evolving.Two regional analysts said the type of bombs and their deployment shows the insurgents are using more sophisticated tactics. The analysts spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.Bomb-makers are aiming to maximize damage by using metal fragments known as "shipyard confetti," one analyst said. Militants once simply taped nuts and bolts to anti-tank mines but are now using heavier iron construction rods that have been partially sawed through to cause more grievous wounds.Triggering devices commonly used in the Middle East also have made their way to Somalia.After a twin suicide truck-bomb attack in September on an African Union base in Mogadishu, two dead pedestrians were found wearing suicide vests packed with ball bearings, a security analyst said. These men were apparently going to attack security services and medical personnel rushing to the scene but wound up being killed themselves when the trucks blew up.The activation devices for their own bombs used keyless entry systems of the kind used to open garage doors or cars. The analyst said the bombs also featured apparent "chicken switches," also commonly used in the Middle East and that allow other people to detonate a bomb if the bomber's nerves fail.Zarate said the improved capability might eventually work against the Somali insurgents if the government can persuade the population, which traditionally reacts badly to foreign forces, that it shows outsiders are taking over the insurgency.

___Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

War without Mercy the terror and violence in Somalia

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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