WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- Washington should launch a diplomatic attack against al-Shabaab that extends beyond Somalia's borders, a House official in charge or terrorism issues said.
U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of a House subcommittee on terrorism, said al-Shabaab is emblematic of the problems plaguing Somalia.
Al-Shabaab is attempting to create an Islamic state in Somalia, which hasn't had a functioning government since the 1990s. The al-Qaida-affiliated group has declared war on the peacekeeping force in the war-torn country.
Royce said there was growing evidence that al-Shabaab was tied to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen's al-Qaida offshoot.
Several U.S. nationals were implicated on charges of supporting al-Shabaab while AQAP has targeted key U.S. interests in the past.
But Royce said pressure on al-Shabaab must extend beyond conventional law enforcement. He said diplomatic pressure on Eritrea, which he said was an outsider supporter of al-Shabaab, would broaden the offensive on the group.
"With al-Shabaab under pressure, it's time to tackle its state supporters before this menace reaches our shores," he told a subcommittee on African affairs.
Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali terrorism suspect captured in the Gulf of Aden, was indicted on federal charges in a New York court this week of supporting al-Shabaab. Warsame allegedly fought on behalf of al-Shabaab in Somalia and spent time in Yemen.
