Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, better known simply as al-Shabaab, is a jihadist terrorist group from Somalia that has since spread to the rest of East Africa. With as many as 9,000 fighters, al-Shabaab was formed in 2006 to implement sharia law in Somalia after its Islamic Courts Union predecessor group had been defeated by the government. The militant group was responsible for terrorist attacks such as bombings and shootings not only in Somalia, but also in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania. The group was allied to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, while it was opposed to the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and AMISOM in addition to the Islamic State terrorist group. Its leaders have been targeted in drone strikes by the USA, and their leader Mukhtar Ali Zubeyr was killed on 1 September 2014, weakening the group. However, under Ahmad Umar, the group continues to carry out terrorist attacks, including the attack on Garissa University and bombings of hotels.
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