Somalia

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First US Citizen Sues Feds for Rendition

NJ man alleges interrogation, coercion in Somalia, Egypt

(Newser) - A New Jersey man yesterday became the first US citizen to sue the federal government for "rendition," the extrajudicial transfer of terrorism suspects between countries. Arrested in Kenya in 2007, Amir Meshal was secretly flown to Somalia, then to Ethiopia, where he claims US agents repeatedly threatened him...

Somali Pirates Demand $7M Ransom for UK Couple

Paul and Rachel Chandler went missing a week ago

(Newser) - The British couple abducted from their yacht at gunpoint are being held for $7 million ransom, a rep for the Somali pirates who kidnapped them said today. Paul and Rachel Chandler went missing a week ago in the Indian Ocean. "NATO operations had a lot of negative impact here,...

Somali Man, 112, Marries Teen Bride

Father of 80-year-old says he wants more kids with wife

(Newser) - A 95-year age gap is no barrier to love, according to a 112-year-old Somali man who married a 17-year-old bride this week. Ahmed Muhamed Dhore—who told the BBC he still has his 1897 birth certificate written on goat skin—says he realized a dream by marrying his sixth wife....

UK Yacht Couple 'OK' With Somali Pirates

'We are well,' Paul Chandler says by phone

(Newser) - A British couple taken from their yacht by Somali pirates say they’re in good condition and are being held aboard a hijacked container ship. “We are well and being looked after OK,” Paul Chandler, 59, told the BBC by phone today; he also spoke to British channel...

Somali Women Whipped for Wearing Bras

Underwear 'fraudulently advertises assets' to suitors

(Newser) - Muslim Shabaab religious enforcers in battered Somalia are finding time to whip Muslim women for wearing bras. They're being punished because the underwear accentuates breasts and in some cases gives a "fraudulent" impression to possible suitors, reports the Independent . "Al Shabaab now orders us to shake our breasts,...

Pirates Hijack Yacht, Kidnap UK Couple

Brits reportedly safe after yacht seized off Somalia

(Newser) - A British couple whose yacht went missing in the Indian Ocean four days ago is being held by Somali pirates. The couple was captured during a round-the-world trip while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania; five international warships were searching hundreds of miles off the African coast for the pair....

US Strike Kills al-Qaeda Hotel Bomber in Somalia

Also wanted in 1998 US embassy attacks

(Newser) - An American helicopter strike killed a long-sought terrorist in Southern Somalia yesterday, the New York Times reports. Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an al-Qaeda leader operating out of Kenya, was suspected in the 2002 attack on a Kenyan resort as well as the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania...

Aussies Bust Islamist Terror Plot

(Newser) - Australian security forces today busted an Islamist terror outfit that was planning to attack an army base in retaliation for the country’s involvement in Muslim countries, the Australian reports. An undisclosed number of Australians of Somali and Lebanese descent were arrested in the sweep, which centered around the southern...

How Twin Cities' 'Best' Somali Youth Ended Up Jihadis

Islamist sympathies take promising men from Minneapolis to Mogadishu

(Newser) - For a group of young Americans, the path to an al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group in Somalia led through the Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis, where one planned to become a doctor; another, an entrepreneur. But now the students are at the center of what may be the most pressing domestic...

Lovesick Baker Becomes Celebrated Somali Poet

Bodheri won enduring legacy but not his lady love

(Newser) - Of all the bread joints in all the world, she had to walk into his, writes Gwen Thompkins for NPR, and that began Somalia’s greatest tale of love and heartbreak. In the 1930s, Elmi Bodheri was just a poor baker—until he glimpsed a girl named Hodhan. Never mind...

20 Killed in Somali Bombing
 20 Killed in Somali Bombing 
Jun 18, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

20 Killed in Somali Bombing

(Newser) - A suicide bombing outside a hotel in western Somalia killed at least 20 people today including the national security minister. The Somali president accused al-Qaeda of being behind the attack. A witness said a small car headed toward the gate of the Medina Hotel in Belet Weyne, then drove into...

Al-Qaeda Militants Leaving Pakistan for Yemen, Somalia

Dozens have left, US officials say

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda fighters from Pakistan have started leaving isolated tribal areas and moving far afield to Somalia and Yemen, the New York Times reports. Some US officials point to stepped up drone attacks against militants in Pakistan for the development, which involves relatively small numbers so far. But the growth of...

Bin Laden in Pakistan: CIA Head

Finding leader remains 'major priority,' he says

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden is still in Pakistan and his arrest remains a top priority for the US, CIA Director Leon Panetta said today, adding that joint operations with Pakistani forces could finally net al-Qaeda’s top leader. The CIA has Pakistani informants that keep it abreast of terrorist targets there,...

Int'l Pirate Patrols Spar With Language Barriers

Diverse crews learn to communicate

(Newser) - The international fleet patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia is on guard against an oceanic traffic jam, too, the Military Times reports. One US admiral likened the problem to young soccer players swarming the ball, saying communications were necessary for an efficient response. There are three separate international...

Navy Probes SEALs Over Missing Pirate Money

(Newser) - The Navy is questioning the crew of the Maersk Alabama and members of its own SEAL unit about $30,000 that went missing from the hijacked cargo ship, the New York Post reports. The money was taken by the pirates during the hijacking attempt but was not recovered after they...

UK Cell Feeds Intel to Somali Pirates

(Newser) - Somali pirates are being aided by an information-gathering “consultant” team in London, the Guardian reports. According to a European intelligence report, the pirates use satellite phones to stay in touch with the London cell, which has access to specific information about routes and ship layouts provided to European governments....

Somali Clerics Lead Backlash Against Pirates

Religious sheikhs preach against sea bandits and their un-Islamic ways

(Newser) - Somalia's pirates are facing an enemy on land many of them fear more than foreign warships, the New York Times reports. Sheikhs and Islamic clerics are preaching against the "burcad badeed"—Somali for sea bandits—accusing them of introducing evils like drugs and alcohol to Somali society and...

Somali Pirates Seize German Ship, 11 Crew

(Newser) - Somali pirates have hijacked a German cargo ship carrying a crew of 11 in the Gulf of Aden, the latest seizure by high-seas bandits who are holding hundreds of merchant mariners hostage, the AP reports.The MV Victoria was captured yesterday 75 miles south of Yemen. There is no information...

French Bullet Killed Somali Pirate Hostage

Man died in crossfire as troops stormed captive yacht in April

(Newser) - French forces who stormed a yacht captured by Somali pirates on April 10 also shot dead one of the five hostages on board, Radio France Internationale reports. Prosecutors had said last month that it was unclear who was responsible for the bullet that killed Florent Lemaçon, who was caught...

French Ship Grabs 11 Pirates Off of Somalia

Navy intercepted two assault vessels and a 'mothership' today

(Newser) - A French naval vessel has intercepted 11 armed pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman, who says the pirates were traveling in two assault vessels and a so-called "mothership" loaded with provisions, Kalashnikovs, rockets, and rocket launchers. He says all 11 are Somali nationals.

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