There may also have been disagreement within the group about the announcement in February 2012 of an alliance between Al-Shabaab and al Qaeda and about the group 's ban on foreign aid organizations working in Somalia to save millions threatened by famine . Al - Shabaab is an al Qaeda - linked militant group based in Kenya . It was once allied with sharia courts , which tried to impose order on the lawless country . The Kenyan government designated it as a foreign terrorist organization in 2007 . Al - Qaeda claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at a Kenyan mall in April of this year .
Al - Shabaab is an al Qaeda - linked militant group based in Kenya . It was once allied with sharia courts , which tried to impose order on the lawless country . The Kenyan government designated it as a foreign terrorist organization in 2007 . Al - Qaeda claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at a Kenyan mall in April of this year .