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The U.S. State Department has designated Somalia's al-Shabab insurgent
group as a foreign terrorist organization.
The announcement was officially published Tuesday in the U.S. federal
register.
The announcement says the group has committed or poses a risk of
committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals, or
the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.
In recent months the Islamist militant group has claimed responsibility for a
series of bombings and attacks on Somali government and Ethiopian soldiers.
Last week, members of al-Shabab beheaded three government soldiers
during an ambush on a checkpoint outside the capital, Mogadishu. In
February, the group claimed responsibility for bombings that killed 20
people, mostly Ethiopian migrants.
The insurgency began after a joint Somali-Ethiopian offensive drove Islamists
from power in Mogadishu and other Somali cities in late 2006.
Fighting has killed thousands of people in Mogadishu alone and forced at
least a half million others to flee the city.
Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.
group as a foreign terrorist organization.
The announcement was officially published Tuesday in the U.S. federal
register.
The announcement says the group has committed or poses a risk of
committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals, or
the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.
In recent months the Islamist militant group has claimed responsibility for a
series of bombings and attacks on Somali government and Ethiopian soldiers.
Last week, members of al-Shabab beheaded three government soldiers
during an ambush on a checkpoint outside the capital, Mogadishu. In
February, the group claimed responsibility for bombings that killed 20
people, mostly Ethiopian migrants.
The insurgency began after a joint Somali-Ethiopian offensive drove Islamists
from power in Mogadishu and other Somali cities in late 2006.
Fighting has killed thousands of people in Mogadishu alone and forced at
least a half million others to flee the city.
Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.