An update of this story.
Unfortunately I was right to think that al Shabaab was involved in the kidnapping of the two Frenchmen in Somalia. But it seems that Hizbul Islam carried out the kidnapping and now the two terrorist groups have split the hostages between them.
Seems to me that the terror groups are trying to get two separate ransoms for each Frenchman. The economics of terrorism. New York Times
NAIROBI, Kenya — The two most dangerous radical Islamist groups in Somalia have agreed to “share” the two French hostages kidnapped this week, an Islamist leader said Thursday.
“We decided to share the hostages in order to save the blood of Islamists,” said the leader, a senior member of the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
The insurgent leader, who asked not to be identified for his own safety, said that Somalia’s most powerful Islamist group, the Shabab, wanted to be in charge of the hostages and had threatened to start an intra-insurgent war over the Frenchmen.
“After a little dispute, one French guy was transferred to the Shabab,” he said. “Now we have one, they have one.”
The Shabab has stoned adulterers and outlawed soccer and is aligned with Al Qaeda, according to the American military. Hizbul Islam is considered more moderate, but just slightly.
No comments:
Post a Comment