Daesh releases first video of Somalia fighters

Somali police hold their weapons as they walk outside the Maka Al-Mukarama hotel during an Islamist group Al-Shabab attack in the capital Mogadishu, March 27, 2015. The country is now facing a mounting Daesh presence. (Reuters)

JOHANNESBURG: A group that monitors extremist organizations says Daesh has posted what is thought to be the first video from Daesh-affiliated fighters in Somalia.
The video posted online Monday calls on supporters to 鈥渉unt down鈥� what it calls nonbelievers and attack churches and markets.
The SITE Intelligence Group says the video urges supporters to take advantage of people鈥檚 鈥渄runkenness鈥� 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-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab extremist group.
The fighters are based in northern Somalia鈥檚 rural Puntland. Experts warn their numbers could grow as Daesh fighters flee Syria and Iraq.