Somalia

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Freed Yacht Couple Opens Up About Traumatic Year

Retired Brits spent year held captive by Somali thugs

(Newser) - The retired British couple who was released yesterday after a year held hostage by pirates who seized them as they sailed the ocean in their yacht opened up about their ordeal, saying one of their most difficult parts was being severely beaten when they refused to be separated during their...

Pirates Free UK Couple After a Year

'We're very happy to be alive,' Rachel Chandler says

(Newser) - After being held captive more than a year on their 38-foot yacht in the Indian Ocean, Somali pirates have set free a British couple early today, ending one of the longest hostage situations off East Africa. Paul and Rachel Chandler appeared thin but relaxed in a small ceremony in their...

19 Chinese Pirate Hostages Head Home After 4 Months

Captive sailors were fed nothing but spuds after June hijacking

(Newser) - Nineteen Chinese sailors have arrived back in their homeland after 4 months in harsh conditions as captives of Somali pirates. The men were fed nothing but boiled potatoes since the Golden Blessing was hijacked in June, AP reports. Pirates released the men and the ship after receiving a ransom from...

Three Somali Gangs Busted for US Child Sex Ring

And separately, FBI arrests 99 pimps, frees 69 child prostitutes

(Newser) - Two major victories against child prostitution today: Twenty-nine people have been indicted in a sex trafficking ring in which Somali gangs in Minneapolis allegedly forced girls under age 14 into prostitution in at least three states, according to an indictment unsealed today. The indictment said one of the gangs' goals...

Somali Militants Execute Girl 'Spies'

Town ordered to watch teens' execution

(Newser) - A hardline Islamic militia forced hundreds of townspeople to watch as they executed two teenage girls for spying. Members of al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, walked through the streets telling residents about the executions by loudspeaker before the blindfolded girls, ages 15 and 18, were shot by a...

13 Drown Scrambling for US Navy Aid

Migrants' boat capsizes in Gulf of Aden

(Newser) - At least 13 African migrants packed aboard a boat in the Gulf of Aden died after a scramble for supplies being handed out by the US Navy. The migrants' broken-down craft was being towed to the Somali shore by an inflatable boat from the USS Winston Churchill when sailors attempted...

Brits Warned of 'New Wave of Terror'

Militants from different nations appear to be joining forces

(Newser) - Britain should brace for a "new wave of terror" as the threat from both dissident Irish Republicans and Islamic radicals rises, the chief of the MI5 security agency warns. Militant Irish groups—one of which has threatened to blow up banks in Britain and Ireland—are showing worrying "...

15 Killed as Rebels Attack Somali Parliament

UN: 20K more peacekeepers needed

(Newser) - Three government soldiers were killed and a lawmaker was injured when mortar rounds believed to have been fired by Islamic insurgents hit Somalia's parliament building yesterday. Government and African Union soldiers counter attacked and killed close to a dozen people in a mortar assault on a market, AP reports. Dozens...

US Marines Free Ship From Somali Pirates

Hijacked vessel recaptured without single shot fired

(Newser) - US Marines stormed a pirate-held freighter off the coast off Somalia yesterday and freed its crew without firing a shot. Nine heavily armed Somali pirates—who had threatened to open fire, but surrendered or fled to hiding places on the ship when the Marines boarded—were busted. It's the first...

Inside DC's Secret Christian Frat House

John Ensign, Chip Pickering, Mark Sanford all prayed at C Street

(Newser) - When they learned of his affair, John Ensign’s housemates confronted him. They told him he was ruining his marriage, and offending God. In attendance, as Ensign broke down crying, were Republicans and Democrats alike, all residents of 133 C Street, a kind of boarding house for Christian lawmakers. Chip...

31 Killed in Somalia Hotel Attack

Islamic militants sought to topple government

(Newser) - Two Islamic militants opened fire in a hotel in the Somali capital yesterday, killing at least 31 people. Six members of Somalia's parliament were among the dead. After firing randomly into the hotel, the attackers blew themselves up as government security forces approached.

US Charges 14 With Trying to Join Somali Terrorists

US citizens linked to al-Shebab

(Newser) - The Department of Justice has charged 14 US citizens with attempting to join al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shebab, sources tell NBC. Those charged include 12 from Minnesota, an Alabaman, and a Californian. Al-Shebab is the Somalia-based terror organization that recently claimed responsibility for two Ugandan blasts during the World Cup.

Feds Bust Chicago Man Seeking to Kill 'Infidels'

Masri nabbed as he prepared to head to Somalia

(Newser) - Chicago resident Shaker Masri was planning to fly to Somalia yesterday to join a militant group and train as a suicide bomber but the FBI got to him first, authorities say. Masri—a US citizen born in Alabama—discussed his travel plans and his desire to blow up "infidels"...

'Terrorist' Who Threatened South Park Busted

Virginia man nabbed before flight to Uganda

(Newser) - A Virginia man who threatened South Park creators for mocking Mohammad has been busted and charged with supporting a terrorist organization. Zachary Chesser, 20, was nabbed as he was about to board a flight to Africa, where he planned to join the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab, according to law enforcement authorities....

Cops Foil New Uganda Attack, Bust Duo

Bomb in bag abandoned in popular hangout

(Newser) - Terrorists planted yet another bomb in a crowded bar in the Ugandan capital last night, but police foiled the attempted attack following a tip off from the bar's management. "A cell phone kept ringing from the bag and when an attendant opened the bag, the phone was attached to...

64 Killed in Bomb Attack on World Cup Revelers

Somali militants suspected in twin blasts

(Newser) - At least 64 people were killed in twin blasts in Uganda targeting World Cup revelers. The explosions tore through a packed rugby club and a restaurant in the capital of Kampala as exuberant fans watched yesterday's final match. One American was among the dead. "I remember blacking out, hearing...

US-Funded Somalia Using Child Soldiers

American taxpayer money arming kids as young as 9

(Newser) - As US-backed government forces in Somalia fight Insurgent groups linked to al-Qaeda, children are doing battle with children. While it is well known that most rebel troops are children, a New York Times expose reveals that the Somali army—whose soldiers are paid in part by the US government and...

2 Busted at JFK on Terror Charges

Pair allegedly planned to join terror group in Somalia

(Newser) - Two New Jersey men who allegedly intended to kill American troops were arrested yesterday at John F. Kennedy International Airport before boarding flights to join a jihadist group in Somalia, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, were charged with conspiring to commit an...

US Expands Secret Mideast Operations

Petraeus authorizes special ops in friendly, unfriendly Mideast nations

(Newser) - The head of US Central Command has green-lighted a huge expansion in American secret operations in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia, according to documents obtained by the New York Times . Gen. David Petraeus has authorized the sending of special forces to both friendly and hostile...

Captured Pirates Present Conundrum for US

Some 20 are currently languishing aboard two ships

(Newser) - The US Navy has no idea what to do with 10 alleged Somali pirates that have been languishing in the brig on one of its warships for more than a month. Though any country can jail and prosecute pirates under international law, the US only does so if they're accused...

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