Al Shabaab: A Persistent Threat

Posted: September 21st, 2016

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.

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