US to reward informant $10ml for help capture 3 al Shabaab leaders

WASHINGTON, US

The United States government has increased the reward for each of the three wanted al Shabaab leaders to $10,000,000 and that those who may help capture the three will be relocated if needed.

The US embassies in Nairobi and Mogadishu were Monday, November 14, scheduled to announce the reward in Nairobi.

Initially, Mahad Karate, also known as Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame had a $5 million bounty on his head.

Also wanted are Jehad Serwan Mostafa alias Ahmed Gurey, Anwar al-Amriki, and Emir Anwa Mostafa.

The US also wants the public to help get Ahmed Diriye alias Ahmed Umar and Abu Ubaidah.

They too had initially been on a reward of $5 million (Sh600 million).

They are wanted over claims of numerous terrorist attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and neighbouring countries.

“Do you have info that can help us find Diriye, Karate, or Mostafa? Submit your tip now. You could receive a reward of up to $10,000,000! Relocation may be possible,” a poster reads.

“If you have information about al Shabaab's illicit financial activities, submit a tip via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp to one of the numbers Kenya: + 254-71-87-12-366 and Somalia: +252-68-43-43-308. You could be eligible for a reward.”

The poster said al Shabaab relies on financing and facilitation networks to sustain its operations and plan terrorist attacks.

The move comes amid a new wave of attacks in parts of Somalia and the Northern part of Kenya.

Both governments have launched operations against the group to contain their attacks.

According to the US, Karate serves as al Shabaab’s shadow deputy leader.

Karate has some command responsibility over the Amniyat, al Shabaab’s intelligence and security wing and the group’s finances.

The Amniyat plays a key role in the execution of suicide attacks and assassinations in Somalia, Kenya and other countries in the region, and provides logistical support for al Shabaab’s terrorist activities.

The Amniyat was responsible for the April 2015 attack on Garissa University College in Kenya that killed nearly 150 people, mostly students.

On April 10, 2015, the US Department of State designated Karate as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, as amended.

As a result of this designation, among other consequences, all property, and interests in property, of Karate are subject to the US. jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Karate.

In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to al Shabaab, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

Mostafa is a US citizen and former resident of California, who has held leadership positions with al Shabaab, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

He is believed to be the highest-ranking US citizen fighting overseas with a terrorist organization.

Mostafa lived and graduated from college in San Diego, California, before moving to Somalia in 2005.

With al Shabaab, Mostafa has functioned in many critical capacities.

They include military instructor at the group’s training camps, leading foreign fighters, operating in the group’s media wing, acting as an intermediary between al Shabaab and other terrorist organizations, and leading the group’s use of explosives in terrorist attacks.

The US says Mostafa is believed to continue to play a critical role in planning operations directed against the Somali government and internationally-supported African Union forces in Somalia and East Africa.

As a result, Mostafa continues to pose a direct threat to US forces, civilians, and interests.

On October 9, 2009, Mostafa was indicted in the Southern District of California on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to provide material support to al Shabaab, and providing material support to al Shabaab.

On December 2, 2019, a superseding indictment unsealed in US federal court charged Mostafa with terrorism-related offences. Mostafa is on the FBI’s most wanted terrorists list.

Diriye serves as the leader of al Shabaab, a position he has occupied since the death of former al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.

PBeforereplacing Godane, Diriye served in several positions within al Shabaab, including as Godane’s assistant, the deputy governor of the Lower Juba region of Somalia in 2008, and al Shabaab’s governor of the Bay and Bakool regions of Somalia in 2009.

By 2013, he was a senior adviser to Godane and served in al Shabaab’s “Interior Department,” where he oversaw the group’s domestic activity. He shares Godane’s vision for al Shabaab’s terrorist attacks in Somalia as an element of al-Qa’ida’s greater global aspirations.

On April 21, 2015, the US Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, as amended.