Al-Shabab's strategies

Al-Shabab, the Islamic insurgency group in North-Eastern Africa, hit the news headlines again last week when they carried out a double-suicide attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. But who is Al-Shabab, and why do they frequently target hotels?

The map below shows how much of the East coast of North Africa is controlled by Al-Shabab. That part of Africa has effectively been in the grip of civil war for over two decades, and Al-Shabab's power grew as they promised people security. You can find out a little more about how Al-Shabab operates in this BBC interview with a defector, and this general overview of the organisation.