Al-Shabaab Attacks Kenyan Military Base

Al-Shabaab militants attacked a northeastern Kenyan military base Sunday morning, killing 2 Kenyan soldiers. 11 Al Shabaab fighters were reportedly killed in the attack.  The military base attack took place near the town of Baure, which is located in Lamu County. Lamu County is home to the town of Mpeketoni, a town where militants killed around 60 individuals last year. During the attack, the militants also stormed the Mangai village where they reportedly forced men out of their houses and into mosques to pray.

The Kenyan military was not only able to eliminate some of the attacking militants, but was also able to recover “13 AK-47 rifles, five rocket-propelled grenades, and eight [hand] grenades”.

The Somali-based terrorist group has been attempting to overthrow the Somali government for years. In more recent years, al-Shabaab attacks on Kenyan soil and forces have become more common due to “Kenya’s participation in an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia”.

As seen in the Free Fire blog, in late April, al-Shabaab bombed an UN minibus in response to the United Nation’s support of the African Union troops in Somalia. Also in April, al-Shabaab militants conducted an attack on a Christian University in Garissa. This attack resulted in the death of nearly 150 students and was an intentional attack on those students who were Christian. Students who could be identified as Muslim seemed to be spared or avoided. In September of 2013, militants attacked the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, which left 67 dead. Al-Shabaab claimed the attack and declared it was “in response to Kenya’s military operations in Somalia”.

These are just a few of the horrible atrocities al-Shabaab has committed against Kenya and it seems unlikely that such attacks will halt in the near future.

It is readily apparent that al-Shabaab has one main priority (overthrowing the Somali government), and will to go to great depths to achieve it. But they are certainly not limiting their attacks to Somalia. As detailed on the Free Fire blog, al-Shabaab has conducted attacks over a large geographical region. They have also openly threatened the United States. In February of this year, al-Shabaab released a video calling for an attack on the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Two other specific malls in Canada and London were also targeted in the video.

While some reports seemed to disregard the threat by al-Shabaab, these sorts of declarations should be taken seriously. We have seen the widespread geographical capability of al-Shabaab’s attacks as well as the severe damage they can be responsible for.

In the past, al-Shabaab has had strong ties and connections to al-Qaeda. However more recently, the divide between the older and younger al-Shabaab forces has become more pronounced as the older leaders wish to continue the connection, and the younger members may seek to pursue a connection to the Islamic State. A declaration of allegiance to the Islamic State has not been formally issued at this point in time. If that time comes, it is possible that the two conflicting al-Shabaab sides may become more consumed with fighting each other than exporting terror to Somalia’s neighbors. On the other hand, Islamic State has dolled out substantial resources to groups willing to swear loyalty, and may expand Al Shabaab’s capability to fulfill its threats to the United States.