The East African region has been the theater for a number of Jihadi-inspired terror organizations that are active in the various countries. The region has seen the emergence and rapid spike or jihadist groups that are majorly allied to global terror organizations such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Previously, the majority of the fighters and groups were primarily headquartered in Somalia but in recent years the groups have spread and have active presence in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. While the herein mentioned countries have jihadi presence, the numbers are still higher in Somalia in comparison to her neighbors. The al Qaeda affiliated Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahedeen still contributes the majority of terrorists in the region especially since the group still practices their slain leader Godane’s ideologies that foster cross-national attacks in the East African region.
Major Jihadi Groups Active In The Greater East African Region
- Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen (Al Shabaab)
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen known as al Shabaab is an Islamist terror organization headquartered in Somalia and is an official affiliate of Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa region.
It is estimated to have between 7000-9000 fighters scattered across different regions of Somalia and the East Africa (EA) region and is headed by Ahmad Umar, also known as Abu Ubaidah. The group has shown resilience and has in the past decade been the leading cause of insecurity in the region.
Through its intelligence wing, Amniyat, the group has conducted attacks both within Somalia and outside with the deadliest being the January 2019 attack in Dusit D2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The group has seemingly morphed to using smaller attack units and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to adapt to the intensive offensive against it by Allied troops and airstrikes by the United States.
- Abnaa ul-Calipha (Islamic State in Somalia-ISS)
Abnaa ul-Calipha is the official affiliate of ISIS in Somalia which is headquartered in the mountainous regions of Puntland in northern Somalia. Its Bayat pledge to slain leader Baghdadi was accepted in December 2017 and was declared the official Wilayat al Somal translated to ISIS’ Somalia Province.
The group is headed by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mumin who splintered from al Shabaab in 2015. As of 2018, the group has intensified attacks in Mogadishu and parts of Afgoye which implies an expansion from the north. It boasts of over 300 active fighters in Somalia whose number is expected to be much higher as recently depicted in training videos of recruits earlier in 2019.
In a video, in September the group’s official media posted a video in Amharic that was aimed at recruiting ‘believers’ from Ethiopia. Additionally, ISIS fighters were arrested in Ethiopia and were believed to have been plotting attacks in various cities in the country.
- Islamic State Central Africa Province-ISCAP (ADF & Al Shabaab-Mozambique)
ISCAP claimed its first attack under the banner name early this year with intelligence further revealing that the group comprised of two major militant groups one located in DRC and the other in the restive northern province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique. Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama locally known as al-Shabaab are the two major components of ISCAP.
ADF pledged allegiance to ISIS and has since been conducting attacks in the restive North Kivu region where the former rebels turned terrorists majorly operate out of. ADF which is an Islamist organization has members both in Uganda and DRC and as such heightens the threat to expand into the two countries.
In Mozambique, the ISCAP affiliated ‘Al-Shabaab’ has become more active and dangerous with the frequency of the attacks increased. The group is majorly comprised of local unemployed youth in Mozambique but recent intelligence indicates that Tanzanians make up a huge percent of the members of the group. Radical Tanzanians who were unable to travel to Somalia have found their way south and joined ISCAP. Earlier intelligence indicated that ADF members from Uganda also traveled to join the militant camps in Mozambique to consolidate the jihadists in EA.
- Al-Hijra
Al-Hijra is the main al Shabaab affiliate in Kenya that was created in 2008 in the Majengo and Pumwani areas of Kenya. It originally was called the Muslim Youth Center but changed its name to al-Hijra in 2012.
Intelligence indicates that it was behind some of the most lethal terror attacks in Kenya among the Westgate Mall attack in 2013 and the Garissa University attack in 2015. It is believed to have an estimated 100-200 fighters in different parts of Kenya but mainly Nairobi and coastal counties like Lamu and Mombasa.
The group though seeming docile, it’s a very active recruiting wing for al Shabaab fighters who travel to Somalia for training. The group has ostensibly created networks in slums in Nyeri, Nairobi, and Isiolo where they source their recruits especially targeting non-Muslims who are later radicalized and used in local attacks and logistics in Kenya.
- Jahba East Africa (ISIS in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda (ISISSKTU))
ISISSKTU was formed in 2016 and swore allegiance to ISIS central and the caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in April of the same year. The group denounced al Shabaab citing prison-like situations within the ranks and rallied all affiliates to defect to ISIS. Jahba E.A has an estimated 100-150 Jihadists active in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Intelligence also revealed an ISIS terror cell active in Kenya comprising of university students that were believed to be in communication with their Somali comrades in Puntland and Mogadishu.
