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The Origins
In 2003 Al-Shabaab emerges as a militant wing of al-Ittihad al-Islami "AIAI". http://qz.com/126991/a-concise-complete-history-of-al-shabaab-the-group-behind-the-kenyan-mall-attack/ -
2006 Power Shift
In 2006, the Ethiopian military invades Somalia, removing the Islamic group known as the Islamic Courts Union "ICU" from power in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, where it had established its own government. Al Shabaab would then begin to rise as the main resistance to Ethiopian forces. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650#p2 http://qz.com/126991/a-concise-complete-history-of-al-shabaab-the-group-behind-the-kenyan-mall-attack/ -
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Recruitment
Al Shabaab's ranks grow from around four hundred into the thousands. The FBI has noticed a trend of young Somali Americans becoming radicalized. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650#p2 -
AMISOM and the Transitional Government
On March 2007, Uganda would be one of the first nation to send troops into Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the mission being to defend the transitional government that was put in place. Other AMISOM troops come from Kenya (5,500), Burundi (5,430), Djibouti (960), and Sierre Leone (850). http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650#p2 http://qz.com/126991/a-concise-complete-history-of-al-shabaab-the-group-behind-the-kenyan-mall-attack/ -
Foreign Terrorist Organization
Al Shabaab showing more signs of being aligned with Al Qaeda. Al-Shabaab leaders publicly praised the international terrorist network and condemned what they characterized as "U.S. crimes against Muslims worldwide". The State Department designated al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2008. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650#p2 http://qz.com/126991/a-concise-complete-history-of-al-shabaab-the-group-behind-the-kenyan-mall-attack/ -
Shirwa Ahmed
On Oct 29, 2008 Shirwa Ahmed a radicalized American would drive a truck loaded with explosives into a government compound in Puntland, Somalia killing about 20 people, including United Nations peacekeeping troops and international humanitarian assistance workers. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/opinion/al-shabaab-aims/index.html -
First transnational attack
On July 11 2010 Al Shabaab carried out bombings that targeted two groups of fans watching the World Cup on television in Kampala, Uganda, killing more than 70. Union mission then fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650#p2 http://qz.com/126991/a-concise-complete-history-of-al-shabaab-the-group-behind-the-kenyan-mall-attack/ -
Al Shabaab announcment
On Feb 2012 Al Shabaab leadership would announce to the world that they are officially a part of Al Qaeda. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/opinion/al-shabaab-aims/index.html -
Al Shabaab Nairobi mall attack
On Sep 22 2013, Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at the Nairobi Westgate Mall in Kenya. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/meast/kenya-mall-al-shabaab-analysis/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
