Lauren Ploch Blanchard
Specialist in African Affairs
Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and distinguished Members of the committee, thank you for inviting the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to testify today.
Al Shabaab is a violent extremist group in Somalia that has successfully demonstrated its ability to recruit Americans and citizens of other Western countries. The State Department designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in February 2008. While it has primarily focused on its agenda in Somalia, two developments in the past month, namely the group’s deadly terrorist attack on an upscale shopping mall in Kenya, and the death in Somalia of American jihadist Omar Hammami, have highlighted the transnational threats posed by Al Shabaab. These events have prompted a number of questions, not least of which are: “What role are American recruits playing in Al Shabaab?” and “Could American recruits conduct or facilitate similar attacks in the United States?”
Date of Report: October 9, 2013
Number of Pages: 11
Order Number: T-100913
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