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ISIS Is Trying Hard To Bring Al-Shabab Into Its Fold

ISIS has released a total of seven videos trying to convince members of Al-Shabab in Somalia to defect to their side. Six came out this month.
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This is Al-Shabab. They’re Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. ISIS wants them on their side.

They’ve released six videos this month.

Each calls for Al-Shabab to drop Al-Qaeda and to join ISIS, instead. ISIS has tried to court Al-Shabab once before. 

It didn’t work. But ISIS seems to be influencing at least some Al-Shabab’s members.

A recent report from Voice of America says Al-Shabab has arrested more than 30 of its members after they distributed pro-ISIS leaflets. 

Al-Shabab’s lost a lot of ground to AMISOM, an African coalition backed by the United Nations.

Still, it continues to threaten the region.

“When heavily armed gunmen from Al-Shabab, an Islamist militant group, stormed Garissa University in southern Kenya,” CNN correspondent Barbara Starr said

It’s not clear whether this latest push will bring Al-Shabab over to ISIS’ side, but it might continue to chip away at its fighters in Somalia.

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