Daesh releases first video of Somalia fighters

Johannesburg: A group that monitors extremist organisations says Daesh has posted what is thought to be the first video from its affiliated fighters in Somalia.

The video posted online on Monday calls on supporters to “hunt down” what it calls nonbelievers and attack churches and markets.

The SITE Intelligence Group says the video urges supporters to take advantage of people’s “drunkenness” over the holiday season to attack.

The United States last month launched its first drone strikes against Daesh-affiliated fighters in Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation has a small but growing presence of the fighters, many of them defectors from the Al Qaida-linked Al Shabab extremist group.

The fighters are based in northern Somalia’s rural Puntland. Experts warn their numbers could grow as Daesh fighters flee Syria and Iraq.