Why is the New York Times calling this group “The Shabab” instead of the usual “Al-Shabab”? If they’re going to translate the definite article, why not translate the whole name, and call the group “The Youth”? Or would that bring them too close to the group’s full name, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, that is, Mujahideen Youth Movement, or Jihadi Youth Movement? Once again we see the mainstream media go to any and all lengths to obscure the Islamic character of Islamic jihadis.
“12 Are Killed in Bombing Outside Hotel in Somalia,” by Mohammed Ibrahim, New York Times, July 26, 2015 (thanks to Anne Crockett):
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A vehicle packed with explosives detonated outside a landmark Mogadishu hotel long favored by diplomats and top government officials, killing at least 12 people and wounding many more, witnesses and the authorities said on Sunday.
The Jazeera Palace Hotel, close to both Mogadishu’s airport and a United Nations compound, was heavily guarded and had been considered one of the safer places in the city, despite previous attacks. But on Sunday afternoon, a suicide bomber, driving on Airport Road, got to within about 100 feet of it before triggering a thunderous blast that ravaged the hotel and sent smoke billowing skyward.
The Shabab, an Islamist extremist group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of civilians during a recent offensive by Somali and African Union troops against Shabab forces in the southern part of the country….
Photographs from the scene showed the hotel in ruins. It housed several embassies, including those of Qatar, Egypt and China….
The recent African Union and Somali campaign against the Shabab seized two strategic towns, Bardera in the Gedo region and Dinsoor in the Bay region, as well as several villages. The offensive unfolded shortly before President Obama’s visit to East Africa.
In his statement, Mr. Mohamud said that those defeats had led the militants to attack civilians….
The Shabab also claimed responsibility for the killing of a lawmaker in Mogadishu on Saturday.