Al-Shabaab (militant group)

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, simply known as al-Shabaab, or by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Somalia, is a transnational Salafi Jihadist military and political organization based in Somalia and is also in a more limited capacity active elsewhere in East Africa. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War as an Islamist group, regularly invoking takfir to rationalize its terrorist attacks on Somali civilians and civil servants. Allied to the Militant Sunni Islamist organization al-Qaeda, it has also forged ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the wider military wing of the Islamic Courts Union, al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the occupying Ethiopian army. In subsequent years, it gained popular support from Somalis and became a dominant force in south and central Somalia, defending large swathes of territory by fighting against the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Federal Government of Somalia, as well as the latter's transitional predecessor. Al-Shabaab gained international prominence due to its recruitment of foreign fighters, including fighters who are from Western countries. Countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates have designated it as a terrorist organization, and the United States has militarily intervened in order to fight against the group.

Between 2011 and 2013, a coalition of African Union forces, led by the Somali government, wrested a significant amount of territory from al-Shabaab, including the capital city, Mogadishu. During the same period, the group was plagued by internal conflicts over its leadership and ideological direction, which intensified when, in February 2012, al-Shabaab's leadership pledged allegiance to the pan-Islamist organization al-Qaeda. It suffered further military losses in 2014, as a result of Operation Indian Ocean, and the killing of its emir, Ahmed Abdi Godane. Several years thereafter, al-Shabaab retreated from the major cities, but it remained influential in many rural areas, and it prioritized guerrilla attacks over territorial acquisitions. It is responsible for many high-fatality attacks, including the 2013 Westgate attack, October 2017 Mogadishu bombings and the 2022 Somali Ministry of Education bombings. Apart from its activities in Somalia, the group also operates in East African neighboring countries, extending its insurgency to Kenya's border regions with its Jaysh Ayman wing, and carrying out a major incursion into Ethiopia in 2022. Attendant to its recent resurgence, it was estimated to have increased its combat strength to between 7,000 and 18,000 fighters during 2022.