al-Hijra designated as Wing of al-Shabaab

On Thursday, July 19^th, the U.S. Department of State amended the designation of the al-Shabaab terrorist group to include al-Hijra, the terror organization’s branch in Kenya.  The Department of State claims al-Hijra has helped al-Shabaab “both organizationally and operationally” by engaging in fundraising, recruiting, and occasional logistic support for al-Shabaab.

Al-Hijra started out as the Pumwani Muslim Youth in 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. Lead by Shaykh Ahmad Iman Ali, and heavily influenced by a radical al-Ashabaab supporting preacher Shaykh Aboud Rogo, the organization quickly turned into a propaganda and recruiting arm for al-Shabaab. By 2012, the group had renamed itself to al-Hijra, merged with al-Shabaab, and began openly calling for violence within Kenya.

After the Westgate Mall attack by al-Shabaab in 2013, members of al-Hijra were caught housing and transporting the attackers, a move that  highlighted to intelligence agencies their ambition to carry out violence. Since then, several unexplained attacks on religious leaders within al-Hijra have severely hampered the organizations leadership. However, attacks on churches and support for al-Shabaab’s attacks within Kenya and Somalia have continued.

The United States will continue to work with allies in the region to fight al-Shabaab and expose their affiliate groups and bases of support.