Thursday October 3, 2024
By Mohammed Omar Ahmed
Six men from Morocco convicted of being Islamic State fighters in Somalia.
(Bloomberg) -- Islamic State in Somalia, the global terrorist group’s affiliate in the Horn of Africa nation, has doubled its presence in the country this year, the chief of the US Africa Command said.
“I am concerned about the northern part of Somalia and ISIS growing in numbers,” Africom Commander Michael Langley said on Voice of America, warning about the possibility of Islamic State increasing its foreign-fighter presence in Somalia.
Abdulkadir Mumin, the leader of IS-Somalia, split from Islamist-militant group al-Shabaab — which is linked to al-Qaeda — to form the group nine years ago and was the target of a US airstrike in May, according to the International Crisis Group.
Asked whether Mumin is now the global leader of IS, Langley said the US considers those reports “credible.”
“ISIS professes that — sometimes you’ve got to take that seriously,” he said.
IS-Somalia has grown in influence through its ability to mobilize funds for disbursement to the network on the continent, ICG said in a report last month.