(CNN) -- Al Shabaab, which has connections to al Qaeda, is a militant Islamist group that controls much of southern Somalia and is active around the capital, Somalia. It has waged an insurgency against the weak Transitional Federal Government since 2007. How it started Somalia has been without any functioning government since 1991 -- perfect territory for different militia and factions to fight over the bones of the old state. Al Shabaab (which means "the youth" in Somali) emerged in about 2004. Its gunmen were involved in a series of assassinations of Somalis who had connections to the West. Al Shabaab began prospering when the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) seized the capital Mogadishu and much of central Somalia in 2006.
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Militant Islamist group has al Qaeda connections and some control of southern Somalia
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Al Shabaab emerged in 2004 and grew when Islamic Courts Union seized Mogadishu
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Organizational ties between group and al Qaeda "central" are thought to be weak
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Some fear that under pressure, Al Shabaab will launch attacks in Kenya and elsewhere
At the same time, @placeholder commanders split from the political leadership of the ICU over talks with the government, which Al Shabaab rejected.
At the same time, Al Shabaab commanders split from the political leadership of the ICU over talks with the government, which @placeholder rejected.