Uganda Attacks Raise Concern of Terror Coordination

Bombings in Uganda by the Somali militia al-Shabaab that killed at least 74 people have raised U.S. government concerns about the group’s growing ties with al- Qaeda, an Obama administration official said today.

Al-Shabaab, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the July 11 attacks in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Al-Shabaab said it targeted Uganda because the nation contributed troops to an African Union-led peacekeeping force in Somalia, and the group threatened a similar attack on Burundi unless its troops are withdrawn.

The Obama administration has expressed support to governments throughout the region and is sending a Federal Bureau of Investigation team to Uganda to aid the probe of the attack, according to the official, who spoke on condition of not being identified. The New York City Police Department also is sending investigators.

In an interview with the South African Broadcasting Company, President Barack Obama called the attacks “tragic” events, proving that the terrorist groups involved “do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself.”

“We need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to support those who want to build, as opposed to want to destroy,” Obama said in the interview.

Terrorist Overlap

The Obama administration is concerned about an overlap among leaders of al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda branches in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the official said. Al-Qaeda is recruiting young Somalis and coordinating activities with al- Shabaab that include movement of contraband and fundraising, according to the official.

Islamist militias including al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam have been battling Somalia’s government since 2007 and now control most of southern and central Somalia, as well as parts of Mogadishu.

Both groups have said they want to impose Islamic sharia law on the Horn of Africa nation, which hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com