Al Shabaab leading suspect in Somalia plane bombing, U.S. government sources say

MOGADISHU/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Investigators suspect the Al Shabaab militant group was behind a likely bomb blast that forced an Airbus A321 into an emergency landing this week in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, U.S. government sources said Wednesday.

One U.S. government source said investigators believe the Islamic militant group Al Shabaab perpetrated the attack. However, officials said that there had been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

One man was killed by the blast on Tuesday on the Daallo Airlines plane, officials said. Local authorities north of Mogadishu said the body of a man, believed to have been sucked out through the hole in the fuselage made by the blast, was found in their area.

Two U.S. government sources said on Wednesday that initial forensic testing had detected possible traces of the explosive TNT on the aircraft. But one official cautioned that such tests have a high false-positive rate, and further tests are under way.

U.S. government sources said, however, that as the investigation has proceeded, investigators are increasingly convinced that some kind of bomb did explode on the plane.

There was no immediate comment from Al Shabaab, a Somali Islamist group that has waged an insurgency against the Western-backed Somalia government. It has carried out regular attacks on officials, government offices and civilian sites.

Daallo Airlines, which did not refer to a blast, said on its website that the “incident” that caused a hole in the fuselage happened 15 minutes into the flight.

“Pilots managed to land the aircraft back (in) Mogadishu Airport safely and without any further incident. All passengers, except one, disembarked safely,” it said, adding there was an investigation into “the cause of one missing passenger.”

Two passengers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, it added.

“The investigation goes on,” Somali civil aviation director Abdiwahid Omar said on the state radio website.

Local authorities said the body of a passenger was found in the Balcad area, about 30 km (19 miles) north of Mogadishu.

A police officer at Mogadishu airport said the body of the 55-year-old man was being brought to the capital. “He dropped when the explosion occurred in the plane,” the officer said.

Daallo Airlines, the national carrier of the tiny Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, had previously said the plane had 74 passengers on board.

Mohamed Hussein, an agent for Daallo, told Reuters on Tuesday that a “fire had erupted” on the flight. Images showed the plane with a hole in the fuselage over one wing.

A source familiar with the investigation said flammable objects are not usually put in that place in an aircraft.

Some reports suggested an oxygen bottle might have been involved, but safety experts say such bottles usually catch fire rather than explode. Photographs did not show significant damage to overhead panels where such bottles are usually kept.

Experts have praised the actions of the crew in landing the plane with so few casualties.

Daallo flies to several destinations in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, according to its website.

(Additional reporting by Warren Strobel in Washington and Tim Hepher in Paris; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Bernard Orr)

Brunei Bans Public Christmas Celebrations

If you’re planning to celebrate Christmas in Brunei, you could get a five-year prison sentence and a hefty fine.

According to multiple published reports, the predominantly Islamic nation has banned public celebrations of the holiday amid fears that it could damage the faith of the Muslims who live there.

The Brunei Times published a statement from Brunei’s Ministry of Religious Affairs saying that non-Muslims are free to celebrate Christmas privately “among their community,” but they can’t disclose their celebrations or display them to Muslims. Doing so can be viewed as an illegal “propagation of religions other than Islam.”

It’s also illegal for a Muslim to imitate customs of other religions, according to the statement. A Muslim who wears a Santa hat or a Santa suit could be arrested.

British newspaper The Independent reported anyone who violates Brunei’s Christmas laws could be handed a five-year prison sentence and/or a fine of $20,000.

Brunei, on the island of Borneo, introduced the restrictions last year after Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah implemented the controversial, religiously inspired Sharia penal law system. Violating certain laws can prompt punishments like stoning, whipping and dismemberment, drawing widespread criticism.

About 430,000 people live in Brunei, according to data released by the CIA. Islam is the nation’s official religion. About 79 percent of Brunei’s residents are Muslim and 9 percent are Christian.

This month, local religious leaders have warned Muslims in Brunei not to celebrate Christmas.

According to The Borneo Bulletin, imams said “doing anything that amounts to respecting their religion” – referring to Christianity – violates Islamic beliefs. The imams cautioned against doing things like putting up holiday decorations, singing Christmas carols or even lighting candles “as it could affect our Islamic faith.”

The statement from Brunei’s Ministry of Religious Affairs said that enforcement officials visited multiple businesses last year that “publicly displayed Christmas decorations.” It did not say if anyone was punished.

The nation wasn’t alone in imposing restrictions on Christmas celebrations.

According to a report in New Vision, a Uganda newspaper, the government in Somalia banned celebrating Christmas and the New Year in the nation’s capital. Officials gave reasons similar to Brunei’s decision, saying the celebrations could damage Islamic faith – despite the fact that the country is 99 percent Muslim.

New Vision reported Somali religious officials are worried that Christmas celebrations might incite the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to perform deadly attacks.

Some people who live in countries where Christmas celebrations have been restricted are sharing photos of their Christmas trees on social media using the hashtag #MyTreedom.

A Facebook page devoted to the cause had more than 27,000 likes as of Wednesday afternoon, and was displaying images purported to be from countries like Iraq, Nigeria and Syria.

Leader of Somali Islamist Group Killed

The U.S. has confirmed the head of an Islamist group in Somalia has been killed s part of a U.S. drone strike.

Ahmed Abdi Godane, who had run the group Al-Shabab during terror attacks in Somalia along with attacks on Christian villages and churches in surrounding countries, died when a drone strike took out a facility used for terrorist training.  Ten other terrorists died in the attack.

President Obama hailed the successful strike as an example of his administration’s plan to fight terrorism.

“Godane’s removal is a major symbolic and operational loss to the largest Al Qaeda affiliate in Africa and reflects years of painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals,” the White House said in a statement.

Al-Shabab is most notorious for the assault on Kenya’s Westgate Mall that killed 68 people and wounded 200.

U.S. Attacks Al-Qaeda Related Group In Somalia

A U.S. drone strike targeted the leader of an Islamic terrorist group in Somalia on Monday.

Pentagon officials confirmed the U.S. targeted the head of Al-Shabaab, a Al-Qaeda related group that had been fighting against the Somalia government.

“We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.

Somali officials say that Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of al-Shabaab, might have been killed in the strike and they’re working to confirm his death.  The air strike came after al-Shabaab attacked a high security prison in an attempt to free several terrorists.  All terrorists were reported killed in the assault along with three government soldiers and two civilians.

The U.S. has periodically carried out air strikes in Somalia against terrorist headquarters and training centers.

Al-Shabaab is mostly active in rural areas of the country after losing control of major cities in 2011 after an offensive from Somali and African Union forces.

Boko Haram Terror Attack Kills 5 In Kano Nigeria

The Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram has made another deadly attack on a Christian church in Nigeria.

The terrorists bombed Saint Charles Catholic Church in Kano, Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 5 people and wounding 8 others.  The bombing happened shortly after the ending of Sunday mass as the crowd was beginning to leave the building.  Police estimate the weapon was an IED thrown from across the road.

The attack was one of two attempted in Kano on Sunday.  A woman wearing a homicide bomb vest was surrounded and isolated by police, detonating her device where she could not cause damage.  Five officers were slightly wounded when she detonated the device.

In a surprising show of support to the Christian community of Kano, Muslim officials cancelled the city’s celebrating of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Government officials say that Boko Haram has started receiving weapons and training from other al-Qaeda related groups like Al-Shabab in Somalia.

Islamists Gun Christian Woman Down In Somalia Street

The al-Shabab terrorist organization has stepped up a campaign against Christians with their latest effort focusing on the very public execution of a Christian woman.

Sufia, a Christian woman living in Mogadishu, was inside her home when a group of terrorists stormed inside, drug her into the street, beat her and then shot her point blank while friends, family and neighbors tried to save her.

The terrorists shouted as they were committing the murder that Sufia had been converting Muslims to Christianity.   The woman’s family says she was not doing any evangelizing in their community.

The government says this is the third targeted murder of Christians this month by the Islamic terrorist outfit.

According to the watchdog group Open Doors, Somalia is the second most oppressive country for Christians behind North Korea.

The killing comes on the heels of the government driving the terrorist group out of a previous stronghold in the city of Eyn.

Doctors Without Borders To Leave Somalia

After 22 years of attempting to help the civilians in war-torn Somalia, the humanitarian group Doctors without Borders is pulling out all of their staff and closing all programs in the country.

The group says they are leaving because of “extreme attacks on its staff”. It said terrorists and even some civilian leaders “support, tolerate or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.” Continue reading