The United States has added a group of Somali Islamic militants to the US list of terrorist organizations, the State Department said on Tuesday. "Al-Shabaab is a violent and brutal extremist group with a number of individuals affiliated with Al-Qaeda," it said in a statement. "Many of its senior leaders are believed to have trained and fought with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan," it added.
The decision, made February 29, blocks any financial support the group and freezes its assets in the United States, the statement said. The United States said Al-Shabaab "has claimed responsibility for shooting Deputy District Administrators, as well as several bombings and shootings in Mogadishu targeting Ethiopian troops and Somali government officials." "Given the threat that Al-Shabaab poses, the designation will raise awareness of Al-Shabaab's activities and help undercut the group's ability to threaten targets in and destabilize the Horn of Africa region," the statement said. |