Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

NatSecEdge
cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Al Shabaab: A Persistent Threat

Al Shabaab: A Persistent Threat

With al Shabaab orchestrating deadly attacks on a near-weekly basis, the terrorist group continues to pose a significant threat to regional stability in the Horn of Africa. Despite concentrated international efforts to root out al Shabaab from its areas of operation in southern Somalia, the al Qaeda affiliate remains a potent fighting force capable of inflicting mass casualties on civilians and militaries alike.

“Al Shabaab’s current capabilities are probably at their strongest since the group’s loss of the city of Kismayo in October 2012,” explains Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Cipher Brief expert and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.
Save Your Seat

Related Articles

A Thousand Kenyan Police are Headed to Haiti Where "Gangs Rule"

A Thousand Kenyan Police are Headed to Haiti Where "Gangs Rule"

SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING — After a long wait and amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation, Haiti may soon be getting an international security [...] More

Making a Killing: The Nexus of Terrorism and Wildlife Trafficking

Making a Killing: The Nexus of Terrorism and Wildlife Trafficking

The role of wildlife trafficking in funding militancy and terrorism has received intense attention from conservationists globally as well as from [...] More

<p>Ruins in Mogadishu after a truck bombing.</p>

AMISOM: A Decade into the Fight Against Al Shabaab

The multinational peacekeeping force known as AMISOM has been losing the momentum in its battle against al Shabaab in Somalia, as evidenced by the [...] More

The Widespread Disdain for Somalia’s Government

Despite international efforts to combat the terrorist group, al Shabaab remains a dangerous adversary capable of inflicting mass casualties, as [...] More

<p>Ruins in Mogadishu after a truck bombing.</p>

Nation Building or Targeted Killings: Tough Choices for U.S. in Somalia

The truck bomb that devastated the Somali capital of Mogadishu and killed more than 320 people on Saturday was the deadliest terrorist attack in [...] More

Long-Term Solutions vs. Short-Term Revenge

On Saturday, a truck bomb struck the Somali capital of Mogadishu killing more than 320 people and injuring more than 500 others. While no group [...] More