A picture taken on November 4, 2008 shows Islamist fighters from the hard-line Shabab movement take part in a military drill at a camp in the northern outskirts of Mogadishu. Somalia's Islamist and pro-government forces were on collision course again Thursday, as police vowed to send troops to wrest back control of several towns from fast-advancing Shebab fighters. (AFP/File/Abdurashid Abdulle Abikar)Somalia's Collapse (Again) -- Counter Terrorism Blog
Perhaps no venue outside the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region is a more important venue for radical Islamists than Somalia. Somalia is viewed as an historic battleground where the United States and United Nations were defeated once, and where al Qaeda and like-minded groups can build the beginning of the caliphate, that will rule the world according to Sharia law.
Now, it seems the jihadists have made an improbable comeback are again on the verge of taking power. How this has come to pass is a study in much of what is wrong with how counter-terrorism efforts are carried out in stateless areas.
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More News On Somalia
Islamists Taking Over Somalia -- Voice Of America
Somali president: Government on verge of collapse -- AP
Somali government 'near collapse' -- Al Jazeera
Hardline Islamists tighten their lethal grip -- Sunday Herald
Somalia falling to Islamists -- Sydney Morning Herald
UN urges end to Somali quarrelling -- AFP
Somali regime on the brink -- Independent South Africa
Q+A-Why should the world care about Somalia? -- Reuters