29 are dead in an attack at a courthouse in Mogadishu, Somalia on Sunday. Witnesses report 10 heavily armed gunman stormed the building. Explosives were set off and a fire fight ensued with government security.
Among the dead are nine al-shabab militants. 60 other were wounded in the assault.
A federal court in Chicago has sentenced an attempted suicide bomber, 29-year-old Shaker Masri, to 10 years in federal prison following his trial in which he was convicted of attempting to travel to Somalia and join Al-Qaeda and a Somalia affiliate, al-Shabab, then return to the U.S. and be a suicide bomber, killing Americans.
During his trial, Masri pleaded guilty to trying to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, saying he had hoped to blow up a bus with American soldiers on it.
Washington, D.C. -
In an apparent attempt to retaliate to the U.S. government's bounty of several million for information leading to the capture or killing of Al-Shabaab terrorist group leaders Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, the groups spokesperson and fundraiser and Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohamed, the founder of the Islamist group in Somalia, Al-Shabaab has offered 10 camels in a bounty for the killing of President Barack Obama.
Washington, D.C. -
A Somali pirate, 50 year old Mohammad Saaili Shibin, was convicted on Friday in US Federal Court for his part in the pirate attack and ransom negotiations of four American hostages who were later killed.
The four slain Americans were Jean and Scott Adam of California and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle.
Somali pirates have taken an Iranian owned ship, the MV Eglantine, near the Maldives. This ship had a crew of 23, and was about 1,800 miles away from Somalia when it was taken.
The Maldives has sent a coastguard vessel to the scene, according to local reports. It is also co-ordinating with Indian naval officials in an effort to rescue the crew.
Brussels -
The E.U. has agreed to a two year extension of it anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa and around Somalia and increased it's military forces actions by authorizing them to target pirates on land, and to destroy fuel dumps anywhere as well as target boats.
A bomb has exploded in Mogadishu, Somalia near the Turkish Embassy, believed to be the work of Islamists who have been fighting a civil war with the western backed government.
Turkey is the only country outside of the regional area of Somalia to have opened an embassy, and the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited the Embassy and Somalia in August, the only head of state or high ranking government official not from Africa to visit Somalia in 20 years.
The U.S. Embassy in Kenya is warning U.S. citizens to defer travel to Kenya and to depart early from Kenya. The Embassy has also taken steps to restrict Embassy personnel from open travel, along with any dependents, saying they have received credible intelligence of an attack.
Somali pirates have undertaken a bold raid into Kenya and took an elderly French tourist hostage who is wheelchair-bound. Resort staff and witnesses tried to intervene and help but Somali pirates fired shots.
Kenya has a booming tourism industry, and its coasts are considered some of the most desirable in the world because of its pristine beaches and ancient ruins. Tourism is the largest segment of the Kenyan economy totaling over a billion dollars a year.