Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - Al-Shabaab (AS)

Al-Shabaab

Aka:  Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin; al-Shabab; Shabaab; Youth Wing; Mujahidin al-Shabaab Movement; Mujahideen Youth Movement; Mujahidin Youth Movement; al-Hijra; al Hijra; Muslim Youth Center; the Youth; MYC MYM; Pumwani Muslim Youth; Pumwani Islamist Muslim Youth Center; Hizbul Shabaab; Hisb’ul Shabaab; al-Shabaab al-Islamiya; al-Shabaab al-Islaam; al-Shabaab al-Jihaad; the Unity of Islamic Youth; Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujaahidiin; Harakatul-Shabaab al Mujaahidiin; Mujaahidiin Youth Movement.

Description:  Al-Shabaab was designated as an FTO on March 18, 2008.  The group pledged allegiance to al-Qa’ida in 2012 and had ties to other al-Qa’ida affiliates, including al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb.  Al-Shabaab formed originally as the militant wing of the former Somali Islamic Courts Union that took over parts of southern Somalia during the second half of 2006.  Since the end of 2006, al-Shabaab and associated militias have engaged in violent insurgency, using guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics against the transitional and now the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).

Composed of Somali and other East African recruits and foreign terrorist fighters, al-Shabaab saw its territorial control reduced in the early 2010s owing to the efforts of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS; formerly the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)), Somali forces, and clashes within the group itself.  In 2022, the FGS launched a renewed offensive against the group, which initially succeeded in consolidating government control over areas of central Somalia, though those gains had since been eroded by al-Shabaab counterattacks.  In December 2024, the UN Security Council endorsed the African Union Peace and Security Council’s decision to replace ATMIS with a new peacekeeping force, the AUSSOM, although questions over funding and transition timelines remained unresolved.

Activities:  In March 2024, at least seven Somali soldiers were killed when the group attacked a military base outside of Mogadishu.  In August, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed at least 32 civilians and injured at least 63 more in an attack on a hotel in Mogadishu.

Strength:  Al-Shabaab was estimated to have between 7,000 and 12,000 members.

Location/Area of Operation:  Primarily Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia; also historically, Djibouti and Uganda.

Funding and External Aid:  Al-Shabaab received and generated enough income to launch attacks throughout East Africa, including against military bases and various civilian targets.  The group obtained funds through illegal charcoal production and exports, through taxation of local populations and businesses, and through remittances and other money transfers from the Somali diaspora (although these funds were not always intended to support al-Shabaab members).

Associated documents