US, Gulf States Sanction 15 Al-Shabaab Operatives in Somalia for Terror Financing

WASHINGTON - A total of 15 Al-Shabaab terrorists have been designated by seven members of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre (TFTC), with some being suspected financiers, who operate within the Horn of Africa nation, and who have been on the radar for years.

The affected individuals are accused of supporting Al-Shabaab activities within the country, including fundraising for the group and proliferation of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). This was the eighth round of joint designations by TFTC.

Established in May 2017, the TFTC enhances multinational cooperation against terrorist financing between the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

It coordinates actions against terrorist activities through the sharing of information on financing networks. The cooperation also seeks to establish strong collaborations in the fight against Al-Shabaab and other terror networks.

“Al-Shabaab continues to terrorize and extort the Somali people, forcing farmers to turn over livestock as ‘donations’ and kidnapping civilians, while it destabilizes the wider region through its campaign of violence. Today, the TFTC is acting to deny al-Shabab access to regional and international financial networks to secure funding, coordinate attacks, and enable its violent activities,” said Treasury’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Anna Morris.

“TFTC member states are stronger and more effective when working together to counter these shared threats to the international financial system, and we will maintain intensive pressure on terrorist actors and their financial networks.”

Some of those caught in the latest sanctions include Hasaan Abshir Xuuroow (Xuuroow), who is an al-Shabaab intelligence and finance officer who has led a group of other al-Shabaab associates to collect mandatory “donations” from civilians in Kismayo, Somalia.

Aadan Yusuf Saciid Ibrahim (Ibrahim) is an al-Shabaab mandatory donations collector in Lower Shabelle, Somalia. He has been responsible for enforcing the collection of fees associated with livestock and market sales.

But perhaps the most notorious is Mumin Dheere (Dheere), who was the deputy emir of Wayanta, Lower Juba, Somalia. He has coordinated retaliatory attacks for al-Shabaab by targeting Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia security forces, and has planned to use vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and mortars in the attacks. Separately, Dheere has also planned to attack Kismayo International Airport.

In late 2021, Macalin Burhan (Burhan) was appointed as the al-Shabaab Hisbah commander of the Wayanta area in Lower Juba, Somalia. As recently as mid-2022, al-Shabaab had imprisoned more than 80 civilians in the Wayanta area. Burhan, in his position as the al-Shabaab regional Hisbah commander, has refused to release the civilians.

Others are Ali Ahmed Hussein (Hussein), Maxamed Cali (Cali), who is the al-Shabaab company commander in charge of 100 fighters, Ahmed Kabadhe (Kabadhe), Siyaat Ayuto (Ayuto), Hassan Yariisow Aadan (Aadan), Siciid Abdullahi Aadan (Aadan), and Mohamed Abdullah Hirey (Hirey).

Also in the list are Cabdi Roobow (Roobow), Shiek Aadan Abuukar Malayle (Malayle), Aadan Jiss (Jiss), and Cumar Guhaad, who is an al-Shabaab commander in the Lower Shabelle, Somalia, who has used his leadership position in al-Shabaab to order clans in the region to pay large sums of money to support the terrorist group.

GAROWE ONLINE