 The addition of elders and young girls marks a change in the movement, which had previously involved only men, particularly young boys.Their core consisted of veterans who had fought and defeated the secular Mogadishu faction leaders of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) at the Second Battle of Mogadishu.Their origins are not clearly known, but former members say Hizbul Shabaab was founded as early as 2004.