MOGADISHU, Somalia — Rake-thin young men wearing headscarves covering their faces shoulder AK-47 rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers. They clamber through the ruins of Mogadishu, heading to the frontlines where they begin firing upon positions held by the Transitional Federal Government.

Elsewhere a convoy of “technicals,” the Mad Max-style battlewagons that ply Mogadishu’s cratered streets, drive by, black flags fluttering overhead.

This is Al Shabaab, Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, as presented in recruitment videos filmed in Mogadishu and distributed on jihadi websites.