Today's Situation Room:

Wolf Blitzer delivers the most important breaking news and political, international, and national security stories of the day. Tune to The Situation Room weekdays 5-7pm ET on CNN.

Wolf Blitzer delivers the most important breaking news and political, international, and national security stories of the day. Tune to The Situation Room weekdays 5-7pm ET on CNN.

September 26th, 2013
08:23 PM ET

"White Widow" sought by Interpol

Less than a week after a terror attack on a Kenyan mall, Interpol released a red alert for the so-called "White Widow," a female, British-born jihadist who has been on the run for years. CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on the search for Samantha Lewthwaite.

September 25th, 2013
07:56 PM ET

Mall security after Kenya: Are we safe?

CNN's Brian Todd investigates how safe are American malls after a terror attack kills 67 people at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya.


Filed under: Brian Todd • Nairobi Mall Shooting • National security • Terror
September 25th, 2013
07:43 PM ET

Nairobi terror attack victim praised by Clinton

She was Harvard educated, nine months pregnant, and spending a quiet Saturday afternoon with her husband at a mall in Nairobi– when together, they were gunned down by Somali terrorists. A brilliant vaccines researcher with the Clinton Global Initiative, Elif Yavuz is now being mourned by family, friends, and her boss, former Pres. Bill Clinton.

CNN's Chris Lawrence profiles the woman friends remember as "amazing," "wonderful," and "beautiful."


Filed under: Bill Clinton • Chris Lawrence • Kenya • Nairobi Mall Shooting
September 24th, 2013
07:35 PM ET

How terror group recruits in the U.S.

More than 40 Somali Americans have been recruited by the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group Al-Shabaab, according to a Congressional hearing in 2011. The problem dates back to as early as 2008, and at least three young American men are believed to have carried out suicide bombings in Somalia over the last couple of years. Although Somali American communities like Minneapolis's are "100% against terror," analysts say there is a trend of young men fighting for the organization overseas.

But why? Who would give up a comfortable life in America to fight a jihad thousands of miles away in eastern Africa? CNN's Brian Todd explores how Al-Shabaab has successfully recruited so many young men.


Filed under: al-Shabaab • Brian Todd • Nairobi Mall Shooting • Somalia
September 23rd, 2013
08:20 PM ET

Horror stories from Kenyan mall emerge

CNN's Arwa Damon talks to eyewitnesses from inside the brutal attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya.


Filed under: al-Shabaab • Arwa Damon • Kenya • Nairobi Mall Shooting
September 23rd, 2013
08:15 PM ET

From Minneapolis to Mogadishu

Al-Shabaab, the terrorist group claiming responsibility for Saturday's attack on a mall in Nairobi, is based in Somalia. But the organization has a history of trying to recruit in the West, and some alleged that two or three Americans were among the gunmen in this weekend's assault.

Brian Todd reports from Minneapolis, Minnesota, a major recruiting ground for the group, on how they have been so successful in recruiting young Somali American men.


Filed under: al-Shabaab • Brian Todd • Kenya • Nairobi Mall Shooting • Somalia
September 23rd, 2013
07:42 PM ET

Running into the chaos

When most people heard the first shots fired in Nairobi's Westgate Mall, they ran for their lives. They ran to safety. They ran to find their loved ones. But for a few brave individuals, that gunfire is a call to action– the police and first responders, the EMTs, and even some reporters.

Nichole Sobecki, a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, was able to get inside the mall after the attack by terrorists from Al-Shabaab had begun. She describes to Wolf Blitzer what it was like inside the besieged mall– a "surreal... scene of terror."


Filed under: al-Shabaab • Kenya • Nairobi Mall Shooting