ISIS Tries to Expand in Africa via Call for Al-Shabaab Fighters to Join Them in Somalia

ISIS Tries to Expand in Africa via Call for Al-Shabaab Fighters to Join Them in Somalia
Tue Jan 12, 2016 18:37:29

ISIS fighters in Libya have released a new video showing two fighters calling for al-Shabaab fighters to join ISIS's new franchise in Somalia.

Speaking fluently in English, one of the fighters, most likely of Somali origin, urges people in his homeland to turn against al-Shabaab and join a small number of ISIS fighters who have rebelled against al-Shabaab and are now fighting for ISIS.

The video is titled 'A message to our brothers in Somalia', with the scripted speech relayed by both an English fighter and another Somali speaker.

Ten fighters are shown sitting under a small tree, located close to the ISIS-held city of Sirte in central Libya.

The English speaking fighter, known only as Saif al-deen al-Somaal, urges Somalis to join the small ISIS franchise in Somalia, mainly made up of rebellious al-Shabaab fighters.

He threatens al-Shabaab fighters, asking them what they will say on the day of judgement when questioned by Allah.

A small group of al-Shabaab fighters released a propaganda video several months ago, declaring they had defected to ISIS.

The al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab reacted aggressively, hunting down the ISIS dissenters in a series of ambushes and attacks.

Despite ISIS's territorial gains in Iraq, Syria and parts of Afghanistan and Libya, it holds no real territory in Somalia.

It remains keen to expand in the Horn of Africa, looking to form a new franchise, made up of rebellious fighters formerly with al-Shabaab.

In Libya ISIS have held the Libyan city of Sirte since May 2015 and has been attempting to gain ground near the oilfields of Ajdabiya.

The terrorist group was pushed out of the eastern city of Dernah in mid June 2015 and has recently claimed to have captured the town of Bin Jawad, near Sirte.

However ISIS in Libya have started to come under pressure from other militias and there remains talk of coalition airstrikes coming in to clean out the terrorist group from Libya.

The Libyan National Army have claimed that fighter jets, reportedly belonging to France, carried out airstrikes on an ISIS convoy on Sunday near the Libyan city of Sirte.

It is not the first time ISIS have released propaganda videos showing African fighters calling for terrorist to turn their back on al-Shabaab and join ISIS.

The terror group have previously tried to encourage al-Shabaab fighters to turn against al-Qaeda and join ISIS with videos of Somali fighters in Syria and Iraq, Daily Mail reported.

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