Al Shabaab Vows to Revenge Osama's Killing

By Staff Writer

Somalia's Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group linked to al-Qaida, has reacted to the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda Network, vowing to retaliate.

In a press conference in Mogadishu, Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Raghe, the top Al-Shabaab spokesman saturday reiterated that Osama’s killing would not affect the operations of the group.He dismissed a notion by the Somali government that al-Shabaab will be weakened by the death of bin Laden.

The statement followed soon after Al-Qaeda confirmed the death of its leader.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed told VOA Somali service on May 2 that his government welcomes bin Laden's killing but the group is bracing for possible retaliation.

Apart from al Shabaab, several Somali groups have welcomed the death of Osama bin Laden. These included the TFG, Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea (a moderate Islamist group allied with the government), Somaliland and Puntland authorities, elders and other influential individuals and groups.

Hundreds of Somalis marched through Mogadishu last Wednesday to celebrate bin Laden's death and call for an end to terrorism and violence by al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab has been trying to overthrow the United Nations-backed transitional government in Somalia and impose a harshly conservative form of Islamic law across the country. The group controls large sections of southern and central Somalia and parts of the capital, Mogadishu.