That characterization seems particularly apt today in the wake of the release of the latest edition of the State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2009.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: They're Baaack

On Wednesday, the al-Shabab account posted a link to a video of two Kenyan civil servants held hostage in Somalia, telling the Kenyan government their lives were in danger unless it released all Muslims held on "so-called terrorism charges" in the country, reports Reuters news agency.

BBC: Somalia's al-Shabab Twitter account suspended