The Shabaab (the name means "the youth") has ties to Al Qaeda, and in the areas it controls — most of the southern part of the country, including a large swath of Mogadishu — it has imposed its own harsh form of Sharia, or Islamic law, with punishments such as public flogging, stoning, and amputation.
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has won significant territorial victories and declared an Islamic caliphate in swaths of land it has seized, from al-Bab in Syria to Falluja in Iraq.
From Islamic State's beginnings in 2003 as part of the Sunni insurgency fighting the U.S. invasion, to its most recent incarnation as a self-proclaimed caliphate controlling large swaths of Iraq and Syria, it has been blamed for frequent smaller-scale bombings in Baghdad.
Although Midtown South covers a large swath of real estate, it has very little prime office space, which brokers refer to as "Class A" space.
Perched on a piece of high ground dominating a western swath of the city, it has a fortresslike aspect, with visitors required to pass through a series of security checkpoints.
Earlier this month, Boko Haram claimed allegiance to the Islamic State, the Sunni Islamist terrorist group that dubiously declared a "caliphate" last summer in large swaths of Syria and Iraq that it has occupied.
The entire pavilion, and a large swath of the garden around it, has been whitewashed, including the trunks of trees.
The house at No. 63 has been refaced, but it has a swath of lovely flagstones, purple, blue and gray like a winter sea.
Although Poundland sales rose 29.4% in the 13 weeks to 27 December, this included stores acquired through the £55m deal to buy 99p Stores and a swath of new stores that it has opened.
It has wide swaths of sheet metal, a low roof and delicately tapering character lines that create a surprisingly sporty profile.
