"The Jews started to destroy parts of the holy mosque of Al Aqsa and they routinely kill our Palestinian brothers, so we are committed to defend our Palestinian brothers," said Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, a prominent Al-Shabab commander. Abu Mansur was probably referring to the recent demonstrations at the Temple Mount, involving both Palestinians and Israelis. Abu Mansur made that statement as part of  sermon delivered after Friday prayers in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia.

Sunday, the Arabic newspaper "Ma'an" published a report about a Jew attempting to enter the mosque on Har Habayit, with a pistol in his possession. That knowledge of that incident will probably fan the flames of the group's anger at Israel even higher.

Another Al-Shabab commander, Abdifatah Aweys Abu Hamza, also supports attacking Israel. He was quoted as saying Sunday, in  Mogadishur, the capital of Somalia, " "We will transfer and expand our fighting in the Middle East so we can defend Al Aqsa mosque from the Israelis."

While it is not clear whether the group actually has the capability to carry out a terror attack within Israel, Rashid Abdi from the International Crisis Group warned that the group should be taken seriously. In addition to threatening Israel, the group has also threatened Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ghana, Sudan, and Uganda. What is most frightening about the group is their allegiance to Al-Qaeda. "If you look at the rhetoric and language and if you look at the Web sites, if you hear their preachers or their scholars speak, it is completely indistinguishable from al Qaeda leaders," Abdi said.

Al-Shabab is on the United States list of terrorist organizations. One of the group's major objectives is to implement its own interpretation of Islamic law – "Sharia" – in Somalia. The group initially fought against criminal elements in the city of Mogadishu, but then began to engage in unlawful acts of its own. The website of the United States National Counter-Terrorism Center wrote, "In December 2006 and January 2007, Somali government and Ethiopian forces routed it in a two-week war. Since the end of 2006 it has led a violent insurgency, using guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics against the continued Ethiopian presence in Somalia, the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, and non-governmental aid organizations." 

The British news site, "TheObserver" reported yesterday that  a recently published NATO report written by Lord Jopling questioned the British policy of paying ransom to pirates that capture civilian and military vessels. Jopling suggested in his report that much of the ransom money is going to terror groups like al-Shabab.

"There is as yet no evidence that money goes to terrorists, but given all of the rumours that al-Qaeda has active cells in Somalia, it would not be of huge surprise if there is a connection there. We will not find out until the government takes the initiative with other interested states to find out and look at the magnitude of the sums involved and where the money is going. It is of concern," wrote Jopling.