Since emerging from Al‑Ittihad Al‑Islamiya in the 1990s, Al Shabaab has evolved from a small militant faction into one of East Africa’s most dangerous extremist groups. Affiliated with Al‑Qa’ida, it rose to prominence in the mid‑2000s under the Islamic Courts Union before Ethiopia’s invasion forced it into a guerrilla campaign across southern Somalia. Leadership changes, internal purges, and Godane’s 2014 death reshaped the movement, but its resilience has kept it a major security threat. Today, Al Shabaab faces unprecedented challenges. The group recently staged a large‑scale incursion into Ethiopia, signalling its regional ambitions, but military setbacks, botched bombings, and clan‑driven conflicts reveal vulnerabilities. Competition from the Islamic State in Somalia (ISS) for recruits and funding adds pressure, as does the Somali government’s two‑pronged strategy of military offensives and ounter‑extremism policies. The appointment of Mukhtar Roobow as Minister for Religious Affairs has rattled the group, prompting death threats from its leadership. While Al Shabaab remains capable of deadly operations, its current defensive posture offers Somalia a rare opportunity to press its advantage, disrupt recruitment pipelines, and challenge the group’s ideological foundations before it can regroup and expand.