Al-Shabab -Militant Group

Who are al-Shabab?

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM),commonly known as Al-Shabab, meaning "The Youth", "The Youngsters" or "The Boys", is the Somalia-based cell of the militant Islamist Group of Al-Qaeda, formally recognized in 2012

Al-Shabab means The Youth in Arabic. It emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia's now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts in 2006, as it fought Ethiopian forces who had entered Somalia to back the weak interim government.

Al-Shabab advocates the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam, while most Somalis are Sufis

Al-Shabab is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters

Al-Shabab is increasingly focusing on guerrilla warfare to counter the firepower of AU forces

Al-Shabab has imposed a strict version of Sharia law in areas under its control, including stoning to death women accused of adultery and amputating the hands of thieves

Al-Shabab although it has lost control of the towns and cities, its writ still runs in many rural areas

Al-Shabab was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 and left the vital port of Kismayo in September 2012. Kismayo had been a key asset for the militants, allowing supplies to reach areas under their control and providing taxes for their operations

Al-Shabab is under pressure on several fronts following Kenya's incursion into Somalia in 2011. Kenya accused al-Shabab fighters of kidnapping tourists, and its forces, now under the AU banner, have been in the forefront of the push against al-Shabab in the south up to Kismayo

Al-Shabab joined al-Qaeda in February 2012. In a joint video, al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane said he "pledged obedience" to al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Al-Shabaab's composition is multiethnic, with its leadership positions mainly occupied by Afghanistan and Iraq-trained ethnic Somalis and foreigners.Most of the foreign Al-Shabab members come from Yemen,Sudan,the Swahili Coast,Afghanistan,Saudi Arabia,Pakistan and Bangladesh

Who is al-Shabab's leader? 

Ahmed Abdi Godane is the head of the group. Known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair, he comes from the northern breakaway region of Somaliland
Ahmed Abdi Godane is rarely seen in public. His predecessor, Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro, was killed in a US airstrike in 2008

Al-Shabab attacks outside Somalia? 

• responsible for a double suicide bombing in Uganda's capital, Kampala, which killed 76 people watching the 2010 football World Cup final on television

• carried out the deadly assault on a shopping centre in Nairobi on Sep 21,2013 in which at least 68 people were killed.