Al-Shabaab child soldier receives military training and instruction at terrorist camp in Somalia.
The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement has proven to be resilient foe. One capable of launching surprisingly sophisticated and complex attacks against protected military sites.
In one case on December 25, al’Shabaab fighters raided the AMISOM Halane military base near Mogadishu International Airport, the same compound housing officials from the UN and other agencies.
Fighters managed to breach security at a UN base (some of whom allegedly doing so while wearing Somali National Army uniforms) during the compound’s lunch hour and shared hours of gunfire with AMISOM forces, where at least 17 people were killed, after which two Shabaab fighters allegedly detonated themselves on-site…
“Obviously there was a lack of security and preparation at the base for such an attack”, an official admitted privately. He refused to go into more detail.
See video: Al Shabaab militants attack Amisom base https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xKXIZa6C1U
Online al-Shabaab issued a provocative statement in which it confirmed the Christmas day attack.
“We targeted the enemies at a time they were celebrating Christmas,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesperson, told Reuters (source: Somalia – many dead as Al Shabab infiltrate AMISOM base in Mogadishu http://africajournalismtheworld.com/2014/12/26/somalia-many-dead-as-al-shabab-infiltrate-amisom-base-in-mogadishu/ ).
The release read: “…the Mujahideen, with the blessing of Allah, managed to penetrate deep into the base, catching the crusaders unawares and killing them when they least expected it. And while some of the Mujahideen fighters achieved their lofty aspirations of Martyrdom during the course of the attack, the remaining fighters returned safely to their base without any harm and are now preparing for their next operation.”
Al-Shabaab – what do they want? What are their aims and objectives? Al-Shabaab : interview with Sheikh Ali Dhere – video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIhHxlm_WZE
See video: Interview in Somalia with Islamist militants al-Shabaab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM5mbKpNzMY