OSINT SUMMARY
Tuesday 9th December 2015, Latest reports from Mogadishu reveal that at least two American who were in Al Shabaab ranks but shifted allegiance to Islamic State/ISIL/ISIS defected themselves to Somalia Government.
An American born rising to a position of Commander in Al Shabaab ranks indentified as Abdul Malik John, surrendered himself to Somali National Army (SNA) and AMISOM in Barawe locality.
Abdul Malik 31, is from Maryland U.S. and opted to leave Al Shabaab two months ago but got the chance to defect last week fearing for his life.
His life was threatened when he recently together with a group of Al Shabaab fighters shifted allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and in Iraq.
Abdul Malik was Tuesday flown to Mogadishu in tight security for further interrogation.
The second American is a Minnesota man identifitied as Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan who had been in the Al Shabaab ranks for more than seven years
Hassan had been fighting for Al Shabaab but recently he went online and started urging jihadist to fight on behalf Islamic State meaning he had shifted allegiance from Al Qaeda parent group to the Middle East terrorist organization IS/ISIS/ISIL.
Hassan had become famous in the social media where he operated multiple Twitter accounts and used them to tweet jihadist messages as well as for recruitment.
He too surrendered to the Federal Government of Somalia amid tensions as Al Shabaab embank on hunting the ‘traitors’ down.
Hassan alias ‘Miski’ on social media circles was quoted saying “Some mujahedeen fighters are now preferring to fall into the enemy’s hands instead of meeting death in the hands of brothers, adding that the friction over IS “is messing everything up here.”
Al Shabaab which is been faced with rivalrly declared that fighters who acting in contravention with jihadist stand of Al Qaeda represent ‘Bid’ah meaning misguidance and must be hunted to their last element.
A Puntland Sheikh Muumin lead a faction of Al Shabaab fighters to pledge baya’h to Islamic State. Since then Amniyaat wing of Al Shabaab has hunted them down killing several commanders alongside erred fighters.
