Kenya Defense Forces AMISOM Contingent alongside the JSF have captured Abdullahi Dimbil, the mastermind of the 2016 Mandera Bus terrorist attack that left a dozen travelers dead. Intelligence sources then classified the twelve people as “non-Muslims.” On 18 January 2021 Abdullahi Dimbil and one of his lietuenants were captured alive outside the Jubbaland Security Forces camp at the KDF-AMISOM Bar Sunguni Forward Operating Base.
Abdullahi dimbil is a top AS revenue officer. Intelligence reports confirm he is from Kutulo area of Wajir County in North Eastern Kenya. He is an ethnic Degodia Fai and very high profile within AS structures. He was the mastermind of the 2016 Mandera Bus terrorists attack alongside Mohamed Osman, Mohamed Ahmed, and Abubakar Yunis.
The capture of Dimbil is a significant win against terrorism, particularly financing and planning. Abdullahi Dimbil held revenue for the terror group estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. He was also responsible for disbursement of payments to fighters in the particular AOR. He was also responsible of funding cross-border terror attacks.
The Kenya Army continues to demonstrate its capability to counter violent extremists effectively despite the dynamic threat of terrorism. The Contingent continues to help JSF and SNA in AMISOM SECTOR 2 build resilience against the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen. KDF has continued to degrade Al Shabaab’s capacity in SECTOR 2. The army has focused on disrupting the groups networks and leadership capability. KDF killed the Garissa University mastermind and Al Shabaab Juba Region Operations commander Mohamed Kuno Gamadheere.
