Across Africa, militant groups include the al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab in Somalia, various extremist organizations in Libya, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in northern Mali and Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, Ham said.
Ideological links between the Islamist extremist groups are becoming operational links, Ham said. “It is a growing linkage, a growing network and collaboration and synchronization amongst the various violent extremist organizations which I think poses the greatest threat to regional stability, more broadly across Africa, certainly into Europe, and to the United States,” Ham said. (Stars and Stripes, Posted 5 Dec 12)
