Evidence of increasing alliance between Islamic militants in Somalia, Yemen and Al-Qaeda By C. L. Staten, Senior Analyst

Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) June 2010 Increasingly, it would appear that our previous fears of an alliance between Islamic militants in Somalia and Al-Qaeda were warranted. These concerns, first expressed (but not initially confirmed) in our 2008 briefing about ‘piracy off the coast of Somalia’ (1), have recently proven all too prescient. New evidence of ties between al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al-Shahbaab in Somalia continue to come to light.

AQAP was reportedly formed in January of 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of the international Islamist militant network in neighboring Yemen and Saudi Arabia. (2)

Somali militant

Led by a former aide to Osama Bin Laden, the group has vowed to attack oil facilities, foreigners and security forces as it seeks to topple the Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate throughout the area.

AQAP has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in the two countries over the past 12 months, and has been blamed by President Barack Obama for attempting to blow up a US passenger jet as it flew into Detroit on Christmas Day.

Al-Qaeda Flag/Logo

US investigators said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (The Nigerian man suspected of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in December) told them he was trained and instructed in the plot by al Qaeda in Yemen. Abdulmutallab (right) reportedly also had ties to a cleric named al-Awlaki (below, left), who currently is believed to be hiding in Yemen. (3) Umar Farouk

Abdulmutallab Multiple investigations of Anwar al-Awlaki (left), including of his recently published threats against the West, would seem to indicate an on-going terror campaign now being orchestrated from the Gulf of Aden area. According to several experts,

Anwar Al-Awlaki

Awlaki is providing religious justification for intended assaults on the United States, as well as attempting to recruit young men for future Jihadi operations.

Add to this available information, a recently reported attempt by a Somali militant to infiltrate into the United States via Mexico (he is in custody in Canada). And, according to as yet largely unconfirmed reports, a Texas man was also just arrested on charges of providing money and other material resources to AQAP. Keep adding up these facts, and pretty soon one can see a dangerous and emerging pattern, focused on Somalia, Yemen and Al-Qaeda. ERRI counter-terrorism analysts said that they think that links between Somali and Yemeni insurgents are growing stronger and that combined terror operations carried out by them can probably be anticipated...if they are not already on the way. Internal (ERRI) briefing/reference: 1. "Piracy Briefing: Somalia and Gulf of Aden," November, 2008, Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI)

http://emergencynet-news.com/pdf/Somalia_Piracy_Brief2008.pdf External/recent reference: 2. "Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," 08:00 GMT, Sunday, 3 January 2010, from the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm 3. "'Britons held' in terror swoop," Thursday, 3 June 2010, belfasttelegraph.co.uk

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/uk-ireland/britons-held-in-terror-swoop-14829134.html

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