some 27 somalia-americans travel to somalia to fight with shabab and they have recruitment ground zero as 150 american fighters that have joined isis. there is cause for authorities to take this very seriously, victor. >> we have heard from other terror groups, namely isis, to attack where you are. you do not need to travel. in this case of al shabab to somalia to join in any attack. has al shabab attacked the u.s. or threatened to attack in the u.s. before? >> reporter: well, there have been bleak references in the past we are able to reach you. but in the sense of being so overt about, as you said, you don't have to come out here, we want to see more lone wolf attacks. of course, this comes off the back of those horrible attacks in paris and those horrible attacks in denmark. this is something already is a huge cause for concern but, at the same time, just to really try and balance this out, al shabab has spent a year and a half putting this together. that is a diminished potential for actually being able to reach these people. they spoke a lot in the aftermath of westgate about more

why has it not worked for somalia? what's not working. >> i think the last 24 years has been a time of great humanitarian need during a conflict civil war a dreadful civil war that's taken place and fragmentation, failure of the state, keeping people alive keeping them fed has been the main efforts and a lot of that money has been spent on humanitarian efforts. still, the humanitarian crisis, it's severe, the u.n. provides life-saving food support to at least 700,000 people every day in somalia. there's more than a million in acute crisis. with the political pros being made now is the time when reconstruction and development can take place that more visible development that you talk about. >> do you get a sense nicholas, kay, that international donors are getting perhaps tired of the somalia burden and focusing on other areas other groups like isil today? >> it's absolutely a very competitive marketplace if you like. there are so many crises happening, so many demand on donors particularly for humanitarian support. in

the government of somalia is controlling north of the country. we are stronger and will continue action to eliminate the al shabab, still in some areas of the country. we have improved security forces. i think al shabab is already defeated and these attacks will not -- things are very clear that somalia will not go back. >> thank you, thank you very much indeed, talking on behalf of the somali government. al shabab he said is already defeated, the group which says it carried out the attack at the hotel in mogadishu. 2m.p.'s, members of parliament have been killed. the deputy minister we believe to have been wounded but the government spokesman there saying he is fine and will be making a statement to the media pretty soon. let's bring in al jazeera journalist hamza mohamed. you spent a lot of time there and know the security of the country. was he right when he said al shabab is defeated? >> in terms of territory they've lost significant huge loss of towns. in terms of territory, al shabab have lost, but in terms of ability to carry out attacks,

is not a routine thing in somalia. that's part of the problem. this is a country that had 20 years of dictatorship from the 1970s and 1980s, and had no real culture of parliamentary debate and dialogue. and then 20 years of state collapse. so we're really dealing with somali political figures that have no history, no culture of the give and take of parliamentary debate. >> there's a guy in this one just whaling on somebody with a cane, intending to do some real harm. >> i've seen more effective fighting in other places. this was really haphazard, but it was quite dangerous because of the way they were using chairs and sticks. i mean, someone could have gotten killed. >> peacekeepers are eventually allowed into somalia in 2007. and as a result, fighting among somali insurgents increases. >> we've got a very serious political crisis on our hand, and it has triggered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. 3.8 million somalis are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance. 1.8 million are internally displaced becaus

and made them watch videos about somalia but exactly how he became interested or obsessed by somalia, we dont know and how he ended up in syria is another question. again, this advocacy group says that he tried to go to kuwait to marry someone there. he was prevented from doing so apparently, they say, by british authorities. and the direct quote was that they said i feel like a prisoner i feel like i'm controlled by the british security services. they are implying he got angry, wanted them to go to saudi arabia and ended up in 2012 2013 going to syria. so you know it does change some things we now know who this man is. it's interesting that it does break the template if you like. this is an intelligent man with a degree in computer sciences and he's also angry, what we knew that a foreigner can become the face of the organization. does it change much more beyond that? no, he's still in isis and still killing and still wanted and still the world's most hunted man. >> seems to be the new normal in so many western countries, this source of radicalization so close to hem. thank you so m

what do people most misunderstood about the problem of piracy in somalia? >> having listened to your story before i think the thing that is missing is that most of these pirates sitting in prisons around the world and let me add that quite a lot of pirates are repatriated by u.n. from prisons back to prisons in somalia and held close to home for reasons you talked about with the families. the most misunderstood thing here is these pirates are manipulated by the mr. bigs in the piracy world who made millions and millions of dollars out of this and these attacks on these poor sea ferrets and that is what is misunderstood, these are criminals, this is a criminal activity and, yes, there has been illegal fishing off somali waters and still is and going on today but mostly this is a criminal enterprise run by major criminals. >> nato mission cracking down on somalia pirates appears to be working and would you call it an unqualified success? >> it's not just nato nato is a small player in this and the mission is by the eu navel force operation atlanta and a combi

the largest somalia community in the united states is right where you are. and i haven't seen a lot. so two things. number one, are the somalia community leaders doing anything about this, saying anything about this or laying low? number two, i can't see any visible signs behind you, not to suggest that they're not there. >> reporter: i tried to reach out to the representatives this morning and i have not heard back. but we heard from local news reports that members of the somalia community were meeting last night to talk about this issue and how it's impacting them. when i spoke to this one leader in minnesota, he wassed a mmt that these are ruthless people that do not speak for the majority of somaliians in this community and beyond. he was disgusted with the video and really thinks this is propaganda trying to inspire the lone wolf types out there. >> the fbi says no credible threat. but last year the fbi did team up with various malls by staging fake attacks at malls when they were closed. so first of all, it's odd that there is this pronouncement of the

the broader concern in the community, though is in that somalia community. i spoke to a community leader just a whole ago saying he was disgusted with the video, that this community in minneapolis, the largest somalia community in the nation is really traumatized by the attack in kenya in 2013 when somebody from that community went over there and participated with the attack. he says that al shabaab certainly does not speak for the majority of muslims in minneapolis or beyond. >> are they beefing up security in is it visible, what you've seen? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you, we've been out here since the very early morning and so far from the location where we're at, we've only seen one police car. that's not to say there aren't additional measuring being taken. but it's really business as usual here. >> be careful. it's obviously very cold where you are as well. nick thank you very much. again the fbi and the department of homeland security say they're aware of the call by al shabaab but they also say at this time in their words, there's no credible threa

emwazi to bilal berjawi, another british citizen that went to fight with al-shabaab and al qaeda in somalia in 2009 and was killed in a drone strike three years later. >> pelley: clarissa, how did all this start with emwazi? what put him on the road to becoming a terrorist? >> reporter: scott we don't yet know exactly how emwazi became radicalized or when his links to these extremists who are fighting in somalia began but certainly there are a lot of tough questions now as to how someone who was well-known to british authorities could slip out of the country and travel to syria. >> pelley: clarissa ward reporting from our london newsroom. the pittsburgh pirates were swinging mad about their hat saying it is absolutely sickening to everyone within the pirates' organization and to our great fans to see this murderer wearing a pirates cap in this old photo. bad things often happen to opponents of russian president vladimir putin and we have just seen that again. tonight opposition leader boris nemtsov was assassinated near the kremlin. his body lay covered behind red square below st. basil's c

emwazi to bilal berjawi another british citizen that went to fight with al-shabaab and al qaeda in somalia in 2009 and was killed in a drone strike three years later. >> pelley: clarissa, how did all this start with emwazi? what put him on the road to becoming a terrorist? >> reporter: scott, we don't yet know exactly how emwazi became radicalized or when his links to these extremists who are fighting in somalia began, but certainly there are a lot of tough questions now as to how someone who was well-known to british authorities could slip out of the country and travel to syria. >> pelley: clarissa ward reporting from our london newsroom tonight. clarissa, thank you. the pittsburgh pirates were swinging mad about their hat saying it is absolutely sickening to everyone within the pirates' organization and to our great fans to see this murderer wearing a pirates cap in this old photo. bad things often happen to opponents of russian president vladimir putin, and we have just seen that again. tonight opposition leader boris nemtsov was assassinated near the kremlin. his body lay covered behin

he traveleded to somalia in 2006 and is allegedly linked to an al shabaab association. he first appeared on a video put out by islamic state in august of last year when he apparently beheaded american journalist james foley, and has appeared in numerous other gruesome videos since. well joining me here in the studio now is our special correspondent, lucy manning, for more on this. just describe how important an announcement this is. who is jihadi john? >> jihadi john has become the figurehead of all of these barbaric video that the so-called islamic state have been putting out, showing numerous beheading of hostages. and his name has been known for some time by british and american police and authorities, but for operational reasons, hasn't been disclosed. but the bbc understands that he is mohammad emwazi. the metropolitan police have said they're not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage or given an update of a live count terrorism investigation. they have asked the media not to speculate about the details of the investigation, but both here in the uk

in somalia on www.aljazeera.com. >>> let's golet's go to uruguay now. let's go live in the capitol of monty very montivedeo. i guess the president is not going to get his wish of this being low key is he? >> it's not as low key as he would have liked. it's been a fairly short ceremony, but you can see people behind me with their banners. the most common phrase is thank you, a man very much a man of the people. from a humble background and very much played on that during his five years in office. he may be going into retirement, but he is here leaving a very. >> gracias, thank you, reads the graffiti for the president they affectionally call pepe. president mujica, no issue too small, no problem too distant. >> we can't avoid war. we can mitigate the consequences of war. we don't think putting a load of tents in the desert and sending food is enough to salve our conscience. >> he provided refugees to uruguay. he did the same for six detainees from the u.s. base of guantanamo when few others would take them. at home the controversy of same sex marijuana a

>> massive explosion in the capitol of somalia 2m.p.'s among those killed in an al shabab attack on a hotel. >> you're watching al jazeera with me, date foster. coming up, more violence in libya, three bombs explode killing 25 people in the east of the country. >> the mayor of venezuelas capitol arrested, accused of plotting a coup. >> trying to make a difference in war torn iraq with music for the people. >> the armed group al shabab said it was behind two explosions in somalia's capitol. 11 died in the attack on a hotel in mogadishu. two were members of parliament. we heard this from a person who witnessed the events, a short while ago. >> i was in the mosque when the first blast went off. i escaped with the hotel's rear exit and saw people lying dead on the ground. i couldn't believe it. i was shocked. >> here's an update from the somali government spokesman. i spoke to him a short while ago on al jazeera. >> al shabab have attacked a hotel and then they killed some innocent in a mosque inside that hotel. so far, we are trying to get

is it really worth it to try and feed somalia? is it really worth it to restore aristide to power their? -- power there? we knew that the soviet union could attack eastern europe, and we could be there, so it took a while for the president to be able to make that case, and it came down to, yes, we actually do have interest in that area, but if we do it, we have leverage with other people. at the end of the presidency one in 10 soldiers in the balkans was not american, in contrast to after the first term of george w. bush, the numbers are flipped, almost every soldier in iraq was. so he figured a how to leverage diplomacy and leadership to share the burden as well, which made that decision easier. >> general clark? >> you can have a whole conference on civil military relations, but i don't think you could have this situation again, so what i remember from the. was that general powell was the first -- from this period was that general powell was the first commander coming he had been a national security advisor under reagan. he beli

. >>> to somalia knew where al-shabab fighters say they are behind friday's attack on a hotel that left 20 people dead. two members of parliament among those killed in the violence in the capital mowing leash mogadishu alexei o'brien reports. >> reporter: this city is used to violence, in the latest attack a vehicle laden with explosion i was rammed through a they thole's don't gate and a suicide bomber blew himself up inside. government ministers were meeting there at the time. politicians are confirmed amongst the dead while the deputy prime minister and other hypo visuals were injured. >> translator: the explosion was so huge that it shook the whole surroundings, i survived but i saw several people who were lying dead. the scene is very ugly with blood and flesh everywhere. >> reporter: the al qaeda-linked group al al-shabab has claimed responsibility. centralcentral hotel is popular. it's the second hotel to be targeted in as many months. >> al-shabab have a talked a hotel and then they killed some innocents. [ inaudible ] in a mosque. [ inaudible ] so far we are trying to get the a

also a question on the somalia announcement there. this was the, did you say, the intelligence and -- >> intelligence and security chief and director of external planning. so directly involved in the planning and collection of information to plan and conduct strikes outside somalia. >> can you give us an assessment of the impact of that? killing him as well as the previous senior al shabaab, what three weeks ago? >> well again, i'm not in a position to confirm the results of the strike. but if successful if he no longer breathes and this is a significant, another significant blow to al shabaab and their ability to conduct plan prepare for, and strike against targets outside -- inside and outside somalia. we would deem this to be, if successful a very significant blow against their capabilities. on your first question bob, i haven't seen anything that indicated that we had before today any direct knowledge of the murder happening on the 3rd of january. i've seen these reports today, but i -- i'm not aware we had any indications prior t

nairobi, the capital of kenya, borders somalia. you cannot only go across the border but they can take boats to the shores of kenya and their neighboring country and they were able to smuggle the ak-47s and grenades and other devices they used during the attack and, later, the kenyan authorities did prosecute four subjects who provided safe houses for the four individuals that conducted the attack. so you had an infrastructure. you had safe houses. and you had attempts on previous occasions to conduct attacks in kenya by al shabab because kenya is one of the african countries supplying military forces into somalia to try to work for the government to defeat al shabab. so that was a much different situation. i don't think they have the infrastructure to carry out something like that here at the mall of america. however, putting out these broadcasts like terrorists groups are doing, whether it's isis or yemen or these guys, it does possibly inspire some lone wolf or one or two lone wolves. this is america so guns are unbelievably ava

. >>> and somalia has become an unexpected hit. >>> hello. two days after a cease-fire was meant to kick in in eastern ukraine, fierce fighting continues around the town. the ukraine army says they are in control of the transport hub. it's being contested by the peace deal separatists. both sides started the withdrawal of heavy weapons. ukrainian forces refuse to pull back from the town. rebels encircled. they say ukrainian forces are accused of shelling the airport. from there, we have a report which contains images you might find distressing. >> reporter: this is what a scorched earth policy looks like. barely recognizable for what it is. donette donetsk international airport. the war in ukraine is supposed to have stopped. a battle of pictures a government against an army that turns to its russian neighbor. this is day two of a shaky cease-fire and heavy weapons supposed to be held back. that's not happening here. the rebel defense minister says he'll only pull forces back when he has proof the ukrainians on the front line have withdrawn t

as it's shrinking in somalia, it's growing in den yeah. after the international capability given that they haven't tried to project power beyond the horn of africa before it's hard to tell what they're capable of. carrying out an attack in a mall isn't that difficult. when they try to get operatives into the country, when they try to get weapons and between the time they get weapons and goes to the mall that gives them some of a chance of carrying out an attack. but can they have people who won't really trip the homeland security alarm when they come through the border. >> david, it doesn't even have to be that complex, of them sending people in. i mean it sounds like from this video, what they're doing is putting out this call hoping that some deranged person or some ideologically motivated person is going to pick up this call even if they don't have direct connection with shabab. >> that's absolutely correct. the reason i talk about the organizational capabilities that was the first question you led with. the only way that they can ensur

as it's shrinking in somalia, it's growing in kenya. after the international capability, given that they haven't tried to project power beyond the horn of africa before, it's hard to tell what they're capable of. carrying out an attack in a mall isn't that difficult. there's a few points to intercept them. when they try to get operatives into the country, when they try to get weapons and between the time they get weapons and goes to the mall, that gives them some chance of carrying out such an attack. the question is do they have people who are classified as clean, that won't trip the homeland security alarm when they come through the border. >> david, it doesn't even have to be that complex, of them sending people in. i mean, it sounds like from this video, what they're doing is putting out this call, hoping that some deranged person or some ideologically motivated person is going to pick up this call, even if they don't have direct connection with shabaab. >> that's absolutely correct. the reason i talk about the organizational capabi

he decides to join jihadists in somalia. >> and i had to join that. i had to join a call to my religious belief. >> he returns to denmark where he says he gathers military supplies preparing himself for war. >> i said good-bye to my children, to my family. >> then at the last minute, a phone call from somalia. >> he said, we lost the airport. >> in mogadishu? >> in mogadishu. >> what does that mean? >> he said, you can't come, it's too dangerous for you. >> what's going through your mind them? >> obviously it's allah's will that i don't go. and i'm so deeply disappointed and devastated. i feel betrayed, you know? >> betrayed by his god, unable to fight for his religion, he says. just as fast as islam had taken hold, doubt and questions enter. >> i sat down in front of a laptop, and i'd type contradictions and why i'm daring to ask this question. i hit enter, and i saw plenty of websites talking about contradictions in the koran. it took some time to research them, but once i concluded that they were genuinely contradictions, that's when i wiped totall

money from america to somalia. now somali americans can't send money to their loved ones and somalia can't receive money they depend on for food, for school fees, for medical bills, many institutions in the united states to avoid serving money -- service businesses that send money to vulnerable nations like somalia due to concern that the money could find its way into bank accounts of unsavory money launderers. so the goal of the u.s. financial regulator is good. we want to keep money from the money launderer and the terrorists, but do we arrive at a point where our regulation is so tight that even the legitimate money that we want to flow is being cut off? i'm calling on our government to get together, treasury the office of comptroller currency, state department and have a real conversation how we can stop the bad money but also let the good money flow. as i said, somalia depends upon this money. it is a very fragile state. it is emerging from being a failed state and if they cut the remittances off, we will see

>> they also mention the mall in canada and that's not a large somalia community. the mall in minnesota is among the biggest in the united states going to about 500 stores. to be able to announce that and the fact that they know there's a large somalia community in the minneapolis, st. paul area by putting out an order like that, they're looking for some psycho pathic jerk in minnesota to go get a gun and go into the mall and start shooting. it's not coordinated and they ordered the attack. they put that out there hoping someone will follow up on it and go do it. that's the problem in this case. >> thank you. appreciate both of you here. >> thank you. >> coming up next here on cnn, the trial of the man who allegedly killed american sniper chris kyle. jurors were allowed to watch the oscars last night. how that could play in the verdict of the american sniper movie up for best oscar, best screen play best film and what a seinfield episode may have to do with the case. wrong. because you're not you you're a cancer hospital and your daughter... she's a team of leading

through to somalia to al shabaab. clearly a young man and very angry with authorities here. >> a picture that is fuzzy and getting a bit clearer every day. just one piece of the puzzle i'm sure. isa, thank you. a dire prognosis. testifying to lawmakers that america is in his words, quote losing the battle to stop violent islamic militants. >> now has direct access to the united states like never before. they know they cannot travel so they are putting out a propaganda message in social media and platforms saying if you can't come to syria, do something in the u.s. or western countries. >> u.s. director of intelligence james clapper was on capitol hill wednesday painting a grim picture. pamela brown has more on that. >> reporter: good morning, christine. with jihadi john isis high profile recruit unmasked this morning. u.s. officials say they are focused on the terror group's influence to attract followers in the u.s. officials i have been speaking with have said we will see more isis-related cases until the isis propa

some of the travelers who remain in somalia are still actively recruiting. al-shabaab has targeted the minnesota somali community encouraging youth to join the fight overseas or conduct an attack in the u.s. in late 2013, the fbi began to become aware of somali americans traveling overseas to join a terrorist organization. instead of us bob, it was isil -- also al-shabaab, it was isil. so far, 4 minnesota-based somali americans have been charged. the fbi, along with our law enforcement partners, are committed to disrupting this activity through a multi-pronged approach. as part of this pilot program, we want to work with the smalley community to break the cycle of recruitment in minnesota. >> tom smith will tell us about the work he has been doing in st. paul. >> the pilot program is built on solid foundations established by local law enforcement. the st. paul please firm and has a long addition of -- the st. paul police department has a long tradition. we worked with local -- smalley community leaders have trained over 600 sworn officers -- we meet regularl

you killed our people in somalia. we normally don't kill women and children, but you kill ours in somalia, so we're here to take revenge. >> i started saying a prayer, which is, there's no god but allah and mohamed is his messenger. so as soon as he heard that, the gunmen looked at me and he said, are you muslim, and i said, yes i am. by that time, my wife had come next to me. she was drenched in blood from top to tail. he said, is this your woman. and i said, yes, she is. and then he said, go. >> as they ran down the ramp to safety, the gunman released some other muslims who also survived the initial attack. >> an elderly lady stood up, encouraged to see that the gunmen was releasing people. so she said, you know, i'm old, i can't kneel anymore, my knees are arthritic, i'm in a lot of pain, please let me go. and the man asked her, are you a muslim, and while the woman was thinking of the answer to give, the gunman just shot her. >> the gunfire on the rooftop caused panic amongst shoppers trying to escape through the

like off the coast of somalia or is it very different. >> the gulf where very large product tankers are being hijacked in order to steal their cargoes by well organized and violent gangs. where they hold ships for up to seven to ten days and we see an emerging problem where very small coastal tankers are being bordered and hijacked by the pirates and again in order to steal the fuel and the marine gas cargo onboard. since april last year, about 18 of these attacks. largely in the southern approach to the south china sea. >> it is a worrying trend but we have not seen it being moving to attacks against larger vessels so far. >> thank you for talking tole a al jazeera. >> now documents lead to the invest graytive unit have exposed the loopholes for south african spies. they are contained among a cache of secret intelligence documents known as spy cables. explains many from cape town. from it reese hope the state security agency works with the end of keeping people safe. >> the spy cables revealed the rules for spying on south african citizens, regulations applauded by some former spies. >

they didn't know somalia and they have romanticized ideal of somalia. the fact their experience, a lot of them were killed some of them went to jail and i think that experience has galvanized the community in such a way that it is no longer appealing to go to al shabab and isis lunatic fringe cult is not appealing to the somalis in minnesota, and across the country, but we do need to address the issue of inclusion. we need to address the issue of unemployment. we need to address the issue of integration into communities, this working class is fairly poor and i think that is the social economic issues that we need to tackle in order to make sure our children are safe but again there's another thing we need to talk about which is the somali-american community we have a lot of police officers in the streets of minneapolis that served the city of minneapolis. we have marines that have served our country and fought in the theaters of war. that's the story that doesn't come across why you have 20 youths leaving and joining, you have hundreds of individuals wo

off the coast of somalia. four thai fishermen held captives are now free men. their boat seized in april of 2010 and used by the pirates until it ran aground a year later. six members of the crew died, another 14 were released in 2011. somali pirates are still holding at least 26 more hostages. >> in tonight's off the radar segment, lesotho residents are going to the polls. >> almost half a century ago its be independence from britain. >> average wage is just $570 a year. >> in 2000 the u.s. signed the african growth and opportunities act, a trade program with african boosting lesow lesotho's garment industry. >> 80% of the quloats made clothes that are made there are made for u.s. mega brands including the gap and walmart. >> erica pitzi has the story. >> in one of his final rallies before the election the current prime minister makes a me for votes. thomas tobane is trying to get an outright majority rather than having to take part in another rocky coalition. >> another coalition, so many this is for the fut

. >> to somalia now where a legislator and deputy mayor are among those reported killed in twin suicide bombings at a hotel near the presidential palace. other high-ranking officials were wounded. >> islamist militants say they are behind the ambush on the central hotel in the capital mogadishu, which is popular with politicians. the al qaeda-affiliated group has staged a series of attacks in the past in an effort to overthrow the government in somalia. >> an unusually heavy winter snowstorm has hit the middle east, turning the whole region into an unlikely winter wonderland. >> but the unexpectedly icy conditions have also brought extra hardship for more than 3 million refugees already seeking shelter from the war in syria. forecasters predict the region will have to cope with a few more days of snow and ice. >> snowball fights on the rooftops of ramallah. no child needs explaining what the snow is for but the sudden onset of arctic conditions is adding to the hardship many people in the region already have to endure. at this can't in nearby jordan some 80,000 three and refugees are wr

. >>> still ahead, somalia's prime minister talks about his plans to stabilize his country after years of conflict. and the breath of fresh air in vietnam, how an open sewer has been transformed. ♪ >> "inside story", now at a new time. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day, breaking it down, getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find the inside story. >> now at its new time. weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪ >>> time to run through the global headlines. europe's leaders have begun arriving in the bellarus capitol of minsk to attempt to reach a peace deal in we situation of eastern ukraine. >>> houthi rebels have reportedly seized the u.s. embassy's vehicles in yemen's capitol sana'a a day after the mission was closed. local staff say more than 20 vehicles were taken. the u.k. and france are following suit closing their embassies because of the security problems and political crisis there. >>> boko haram is continuing its series of raids into countries bordering nigeria. dozens of civilians have been killed

from 2006 to 2011, 27 somali-americans from minnesota traveled to fight in somalia. >> right. >> since 2013, 12 people with ties to minnesota traveled to syria syria. just last week, a minneapolis man was indicted on charges associated with supporting isis. i mean how big is the concern over lone wolf actors in this jim? >> well so here's the thing. there is a large somali in the twin cities area and as you just mentioned have been reports of these individuals going to somalia and training with them. now, the concern is that in a paris-type situation where individuals travel to somalia, spend a few months or a few years learning the tricks of the trade, they return back because they have american passports and they're sort of left to their own devices and there's no connection where some from al shabab calls them up and says okay now it's time to conduct the attack. so the concern is that as they learn things in somalia, they can go back to minnesota and sort of conduct their normal lives and use what they've learned in order to execute an attack when they feel the time is right. so wh

>>> an attack in mogadishu strikes at the heart of somalia's fragile go killing 20 people, including politicians. >>> hello there, i'm barbara sarah, this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up at least 45 people died during the latest violence in libya. >> i most certainly hope there is going to be an agreement, and i trust that we're going to have one. >> make or break time for greece as it tries to borrow more money. plus -- ♪ >>> one year on ukraine remembers those lost in protests that overthrow -- overthrough a president. >>> hello, there, thank you for joining us. at least 20 people are dead after a double suicide bomb attack in the somali capitol, including two government officials. al-shabab is claiming responsibility for the blasts at a hotel where members of the government were meeting. >> reporter: mogadishu is a city used to violence but in this latest attack a vehicle laden with explosives rammed through a hotel's front gate and a suicide bomber blew himself up inside. politicians are confirmed amongst the dead. >> translator: the explosion was so huge that it

fight against al-qaeda in afghanistan's tribal regions and against al-qaeda-linked groups in yemen and somalia. the announcement came at a white house summit. obama also promised to restrain their movement into iraq and syria. >> obviously there is a complicated history between the middle east the west and none of us i think, should be immune from criticism in terms of specific policies but the notion that the west is at war with islam is an ugly lie. and all of us regardless of our faith, have a responsibility to reject it. >> our correspondent rosiland jordan is standing by in washington. rosiland this is the second time president obama is addressing this three-day summit. what was his main message today? >> reporter: it was that we all have to step up to the plate, and we all have to engage our local communities, our members of civil society in order to deal with the scourge that is represented by al-qaeda isil boko haram, by aqap by any number of groups that have been launching these deadly attacks on people both in the middle east and in countries around the world. the president's message

it could go all the way from mali to somalia. >> somalia and al shabaab. so the force being put together by the neighbors right through the african union looks around 7500 soldiers from nigeria chad cameroon, niger and benin is that an encouraging sign? then i have a follow-up for you. >> yes a very encouraging sign. one of the obstacles nigeria is the biggest country in terms of population and the biggest economy. so they haven't been too eager to accept help. they haven't been too eager to say we have been struggling but finally they have. and the regional encouraging them the african union signed in on them and they will go to the u.n. for me it is a very encouraging sign. so otherwise, boko haram will spread. >> ne it will take time to set this up and even after it is set up is it enough of a force to defeat boko haram? >> i think it might be. of course we will never know. because if originally, if you had said that a few thousand insurgents can take on the entire nigerian army that would be difficult to believe. so we have to see what transpires on th

-- to tanzania on safari in 2009, but was detained in court accused of trying to join al-shabaab in somalia. he subsequently complained about harassment from the security service. one person who knew mohammed emwazi the man who helped him when he claimed he was being harassed by mi5 officers. >> you might be surprised to know that the mohammed i knew was extremely kind, extremely gentle, extremely soft token the most humble young person -- soft spoken the most humble young person that i knew. it's hard to imagine a trajectory. >> for the families of the murdered hostages, alan hamming, david eight, james foley abdel-rahman config, and steven sotloff, that description must be hard to reconcile with the distressing reality they face. they told the bbc's they are relieved jihadi john has been identified. >> we will like to watch him go presstek -- be prosecuted and convicted in an american court of law and then in a super max prison where he will live in isolation. that is american justice. >> david haynes's wife told the bbc from croatia she, too, want justice. >> i hope there will be court.

that associate spent time in terrorist training camps in somalia. court papers say he and emwazi were involved in the provision of funds and equipment to somalia to undertake terrorism-related activity. in e-mails emwazi complains about being questioned by british security officials. when he left for syria not long after, those officials failed to stop him. and many here are now asking why. keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> in this country, major problems tonight in texas where just a few inches of snow led to a major pileup and closed schools and businesses. more on that now from nbc's jacob rascon. >> reporter: sudden whiteout conditions and icy roadways led to hundreds of accidents in north texas, including a 20-car pileup on u.s. 75 outside dallas. >> a lot of brake lights, a lot of people scattering. >> reporter: traffic froze on nearly every major roadway. in ft. worth interstates 30 and 35 completely shut down. >> conditions very bad here. >> reporter: what are usually 20-minute trips took two to three hours. >> i'm stuck on the side of the

. >> members of al shabaab, al-qaeda-linked group based in somalia have called for attacks on shopping malls in the united states candidly and europe. in september 2013, members of the group attacked the westgate mall in the kenyan capital, nairobi killing 77 people. in a newly released message, the organization calls on muslims to attack shopping malls in the west. the targets include the world's 5th largest, the mall of america in minnesota and europe's largest small in london. in the response to the threat from the al shabaab, the u.s. homeland security chief, jeh johnson urged shoppers to be careful and said meyers had been taken to step up security. >> we have to be vigilant so we ramp up stewart there a call for an attack on locations in canada and europe and so in response to that i ramped up the presence of the federal protective service at federal buildings a couple of months ago. i am sure that security at this particular mall will be enhanced in ways visible and not visible. >> it's becausefollowing the story for us we heard jeh johnson saying security will be stepped up in

, and we are going to fight this terrorism that wants to destroy the country and the people of somalia. >> reporter: the underindependent international commission of inquiry on syria has just published a new report onner war crimes in syria. joining us from the u.n. is our diplomatic editor james bayes. james what are the new findings of this report? >> reporter: the main findings are a krim catalog of violations of international law, in effect war crimes, and they talk about crimes committed by all parties. they talk about massacres, seven incidents listed that they believe were massacres committed by the state government, five by armed groups and numerous massacres by isil. their details aren't as up to date on isil because it is hard to get to these areas and get information from some of these areas of syria. they talk about torture, torture in syrian government jail barrel bombings imprisonment executions. it's a really grim report and the ninth of these reports they published. it gets worse every time. because of that they have much tougher recommendations this time around. >> tak

. >>> to somalia. where al-shabab fighters say they are behind an attack on a hotel on friday leaving 20 people dead. alexei o'brien reports. >> reporter: mo dear dear a ismogadishu is a see used to violence, a suicide bomber rammed a car through a hotel and blew himself up inside think politicians are confirmed amongst the debts the deputy prime minister and other high-profile politicians were injured. >> translator: the explosion was so huge it shook the whole surroundings, i survived, but i saw several people who were lying dead. the scene is very ugly with blood and flesh everywhere. >> reporter: the al qaeda-linked group al-shabab has claimed respond. central hotel is popular with officials because it's near the presidential palace. it's the second hotel to be targeted in as many as months. >> the terrorists al-shabab have attacked and then they killed innocent number of people in a mosque inside the hotel. so far we are trying to get the confirmation of who was injured and also who was killed. >>

then we have the institute for study of war showing northwest africa, somalia kenya, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, all of these areas controlled by isis since january of 2015. then the president makes this comment and i want to play this for our audience here where he says 99.9% of muslims want exactly what we want. do you agree with this? this is what he said. >> this is an element growing out of muslim communities in certain parts of the world that have perverted the religion, have embraced annihilistic violent, almost medieval interpretations of islam. the overwhelming majority reject that interpretation of islam. they don't even recognize it as islam. it's better for us to align ourselves with the 99.9% of muslim who are looking for the same thing. >> is the president not familiar with sharia law, values that are the anti thesis of values we have in this country? is he missing that. >> i think he's in denial. he can't say the words, even the king of jordan can say this is a battle between islam and our duty as a leader of the free nation is to show strength and resolve. we h

since then it's carried out a anybody after tacks both in somalia and neighboring countries including the siege atken i can't's west gate mall where more than 60 people were killed, this is just the latest blow to the somali government and a reminders of the deadly power of he would shabob. alexei o'brien, al jazerra. >>> still to come on al jazerra rents are soaring in thorn nigeria as boko haram attacks spread fill. plus. >> reporter: i am phil lavelle alla. forget illegal down loads a new piracy threat. one that costs money yet executives are reluctant to take to court. >> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . >>> hello again, the top stories on al jazerra. yemen's former president hadi has left the capital after spending weeks under house arrestsarrests by shia houthi rebels. he has now arrived in the southern city of aden where he ha

while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> so, eric now, we are part of an ordered departure. u.s. marines had to destroy their heavy weapons? >> unbelievable. >> not that yemen is in shambles, because it is but that president obama was trying to take credit for it not being in shambles at some point. it has been a disaster for 20 years. no better than 20 years ago, a governmentless country, a sponsor of terror, training of terror finally they stopped pirating ships as they pass yemen, but never opinion goodbeen good. i don't know trying to take credit for things, al qaeda on the gm is fine. everything is opposite in this world. >> one of the reasons the polls might be as high as they are, wondering if they have a plan, today, unfolding in yemen the president's senior counterterrorism official acknowledged that u.s. intelligence was surprised by the collapse of the u.s.-backed government in yemen but just five months ago the president held it up as an example, that and somalia as an example as a way to have musli

emwazi reportedly claimed officers accused him of trying to go somalia. but emwazi said he planned to join his fiance in kuwait. onths ago, both u.s. and british intelligence officers claimed to know the idea offy yof jihadi john. >> it is possibly that he will still be a face of isis but my guess is he's going to go underground. >> he was last pubically seen in another japanese hostage. >> you now have 72 hours to pressure your government. >> cnn, new york. >> and joining me now is sergeant gohel, a terrorism expert. he's currently the international security director. he's live from london. thank you for being with us. >> pleasure to be with you. >> first, why do you think the u.s. went public with his identity? >> well unfortunately, what this individual now being unmasked as mohammed emwazi has been demystified. the aura of fear that he was instilling in the minds of people have been exposed. he thought that somehow he could keep getting away with thints and his identity was somehow protected. now there's a name identity and background. >> in the meant

attacks that killed at least 45 people. [ sirens blaring ] >>> al-shabab fighters attack a hotel in somalia's capitol. government officials are among the victims. >>> one year on the ukrainian capitol remembers the victims of the revolution as fighting continues in the east of the country. >>> i'm rob reynolds in arizona, where native americans are protesting a deal that allows a multinational mining organization to begin a giant copper mine on public land. ♪ >>> at least 45 people have been killed in several explosions in eastern libya. five were egyptians. the blasts took place in the town 250 kilometers east of benghazi. army officials say one car bomb went off at a petrol station, a second reportedly targeted the home of the parliament speaker. the security headquarters were also attacked. militants claiming loyalty to isil have claimed responsibility. >>> hundreds of libyans have rallied to protest against the egyptian air strikes on libya. the attacks followed the brutal murders of 21 coptic christians by an isil-linked group. >>> let's get more now from hoda abdel hamid who joins us

isis has now started recruiting somalia americans to fight in syria. the fear is these guys with their american passports can come back here and launch an attack on a mall like this which is still considered a soft target brook even with stepped up security. >> on that point, everything that i've heard, two experts i've spoken with says everything they know about them still this is not something they could pull off. do you agree with that or not necessarily? >> right now, i think that's an incredible thing to say. people on the internet say a lot of things and mall security has been one of those bug boos that al qaeda and their associations have tried to attack or threatened to attack for years now. remember that not only the mall of america which is the largest mall in the united states but also the largest mall in canada are supposedly under a threat. the question is whether this organization has the capability to carry out an attack. according to the fbi and dhs, they don't have acredible information saying these are threatened facilities. it doesn'

and they come out of somalia, which is a lawless country. it's been without a government for over 20 years. it was a scene of black hawk down. and many somalis moved to the united states resettled here by the federal government. many clustered in the minneapolis saint paul area. not surprisingly, there's been a wave of somali-born americans going back from minneapolis and training with alsha baseball for terrorist organizations. they called them a terror group in 2008. they have the ties closely to al qaeda through the senior leadership. responsible for the deadly attack in nairobi. it lasted many weeks in 2013 that killed 67 people. really a shocking terror attack. they walked through the mall with ak 47s executing people for no apparent reason. >> americans began traveling to somalia to join al shabaab in 2007. they attracted many from the minneapolis. >> i was on the air that weekend when the story unfolded. they were asking people if you were a christian. if you were you were shot in the head. >> what is fascinating the u.s. government r

that associate spent time in terrorist training camps in somalia. court papers say he and emwazi were involved in the provision of funds and equipment to somalia to undertake terrorism related activity. in e-mails emw about being questioned by british security officials. when he left for syria not long after, those officials failed to stop him. many here are now asking why. keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> in this country major problems tonight in texas where just a few inches of snow led to a major pileup and closed schools and businesses. more on that now from nbc's jacob rascon. >> reporter: sudden whiteout conditions and icy roadways led to hundreds of accidents in north texas, including a 20-car pileup on u.s. 75 outside dallas. >> a lot of brake lights, a lot of people scattering. >> reporter: traffic froze on nearly every major roadway. in ft. worth interstates 30 and 35 completely shut down. >> conditions very bad here. >> reporter: what are usually 20-minute trips took two to thre road. >> reporter: amber mcclure flew in from the east co

is it really worth it to try and feed somalia? is it really worth it to restore aristide to power their? -- power there? we knew that the soviet union could attack eastern europe, and we could be there, so it took a while for the president to be able to make that case, and it came down to, yes, we actually do have interest in that area, but if we do it, we have leverage with other people. at the end of the presidency, one in 10 soldiers in the balkans was not american, in contrast to after the first term of george w. bush, the numbers are flipped, almost every soldier in iraq was. so he figured a how to leverage diplomacy and leadership to share the burden as well, which made that decision easier. >> general clark? >> you can have a whole conference on civil military relations, but i don't think you could have this situation again so what i remember from the. was that general powell was the first -- from this period was that general powell was the first commander coming he had benny national security advisor under reagan. he belie