US increases reward for 3 Al-Shabaab leaders, including American jihadist

NAIROBI, Kenya - The US government has issued a $ 10 million reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the three Al-Shabaab top leaders.

The three namely Ahmed Diriye, Mahad Karate, and Jehad Mostafa have been on the US radar for years for conducting various terror attacks in Somalia.

Both leaders have been members of the terror group for the last decade and played different roles in several deadly terrorist attacks in both Somalia and Kenya.

According to U.S. ambassador to Somalia Larry Andre who confirmed the doubling of the reward amount said that the US government will work closely with Somalia to defeat the Al-Shabab terror group with links to Al-Qaeda tiers.

Andre was speaking in Nairobi on Monday, said the new $10 million reward .“Today we announce the doubling of the reward offers for information leading to the capture of those leading Al-Shabab. We also announce a new program aimed at disrupting Al-Shabab’s financial networks."

Andre further added that. "Let me stress this is in support of the announced strategy of the Somali government. So the Somali government strategy is to contest the false religious ideology, to go after finances and to confront on the battlefield to liberate the Somali communities.”

Currently, Somali government troops, AMISOM, and local militias are involved in a military offensive aimed at driving Al-Shabab out of dozens of villages and towns in central Somalia.

U.S. government aims to arrest the three top Al-Shabab leaders so as to disrupt the group’s operations and safeguard the region’s peace and prosperity.

The U.S. authorities, also revealed that Ahmed Diriye, also known as Abu Ubaidah, is Al-Shabab's top leader.

He was last seen in a video, meeting fighters who carried out attacks at a U.S. military camp in Lamu County, Kenya, in 2020.

Mahad Karate is the group’s deputy leader and has at least partial command over the Amniyat, Al-Shabab's security and intelligence wing.

While Jehad Mostafa is a military instructor and the leader of the foreign fighters in Somalia. Mostafa — a former resident of San Diego, California also functions as an intermediary between Al-Shabab and other terrorist organizations.

Marc Dillard -deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Kenya, further said the reward covers information about illegal financial activities and businesses.

“To further demonstrate our resolve to disrupt and dismantle al-Shabab’s network and support our Kenyan and regional partners, the United States is offering reward money for information leading to the identification and disruption of al-Shabab’s revenue sources and funding stream. This includes information on al-Shabab’s exploitation of local natural resources, financial donors and facilitators, and financial transactions.”

Monday’s announcement marks the first time the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program has offered money for information on al-Shabab's financial networks.

GAROWE ONLINE