somalia

Kenyan Al-Shabaab member charged in US in 9/11-style hijack plot

Washington (AFP) - A Kenyan member of the Al-Shabaab militant group who received pilot training in the Philippines was to appear in a US court on Wednesday to face charges of conspiring to mount a 9/11-style attack in the United States. Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, is charged with six counts of terrorism-related offenses, the Justice Department said in a statement. Abdullah, who was arrested in the Philippines in July 2019, was brought to the United States on Tuesday and was to be presented before a magistrate in Manhattan on Wednesday, the department said. Acting Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Stra...

Trump orders pullout of most US personnel from Somalia

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump has ordered the removal of most US military and security personnel from Somalia, where they have been conducting operations against the Al-Shabaab militant group, the Pentagon said Friday. Trump "has ordered the Department of Defense and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021," it said in a statement. The Defense Department stressed the United States was "not withdrawing or disengaging from Africa," amid concerns of a pullback from various areas in the continent. "We will continu...