Monday, January 23, 2017

Islamic State Affiliates in East Africa and the Horn

The CTC Sentinel published on 23 January 2017 an article titled "Sub-Saharan Africa's Three 'New' Islamic State Affiliates" by Jason Warner, U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The author looks at three organizations: Islamic State in Greater Sahara, Islamic State in Somalia, and Islamic State in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Islamic State in Somalia emerged in 2015 when it broke away from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab and has mostly confined its efforts in Puntland. The Islamic State in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda is even newer and also broke away from al-Shabaab. Operationally so far, it has been more of an ideological than physical threat.