Nairobi: The militant group Al Shabaab (The Youth in Arabic), that has claimed responsibility for Thursday's deadly attack on a university in Kenya that left at least 70 people dead, has been battling the UN-backed government in Somalia, and has carried out a string of attacks in neighbouring Kenya.

The group, which is allied to the Al Qaeda, has been pushed out of most of the main towns in Somalia it once controlled, but it remains a potent threat.