Al-Shabaab Beheads Seven in Somalia

Islamist Al-Shabaab continues to deny that it is a terrorist group despite actions to the contrary. From GaroweOnline:

Somali Islamist fighters on Friday beheaded seven prisoners accused of abandoning the Muslim faith and spying for the government in the largest mass execution since the Islamists were pushed from power two and a half years ago.

The public killings in the southwestern town of Baidoa followed weeks of fierce fighting as the Islamists try to seize Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, amid mounting concerns about the influx of hundreds of foreign fighters to the failed state.

The beheadings may be linked to the Islamists' failure to take Mogadishu after a 2-month-old offensive, said a senior analyst at global intelligence company Stratfor.

Al-Shabaab has still not decisively captured Mogadishu. Government and African Union peacekeepers remain in control of several key government buildings plus the port and airport.

Interestingly, it appears that abandoning the Muslim faith is a more serious offense than spying.