Highlight
The US is offering rewards of up to $27 million for information on the whereabouts of six leaders of the Somali based militant group al-Shabaab.
Summary
The State Department announced on Tuesday 10th November, 2015 that an amount that could sum to $6 million will be offered for information that will lead to the arrest of the overall Al Shabaab leader, Abu Ubaidah.
Abu Ubaidah was named head of al-Shabaab in September 2014, after the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a US drone strike.
Other high ranking Al Shabaab leaders that draw the on the reward list are Mahad Karate, Ma’Alim Daud and Hassan Afgooye.
A reward of up $5 million will be offered for information that will potentially lead to the arrest of Karate, Daud and Afgooye.
Among other terrorist atrocities, the above three have been responsible for the following
- In April, 2015, Karate played a key role in the attack that killed 148 people at Kenya’s Garissa University College.
- On the other hand, Daud is responsible for Al-Shabaab’s operations against the Somali government and Western targets.
- Afgooye oversees a fundraising network for al-Shabab activities.
Additionally, the United States is offering rewards of up to $3 million for information on Maalim Salman and Ahmed Iman Ali.
- Salman is said to lead al-Shabab’s African foreign terrorist fighters
- Ali has recruited Kenyan youth and raised funds for the group.
The offers are part of the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program.
The latest US move finds a disheveled Somali based terrorist group that is on the verge of collapsing. This accrues to its increasing loss of territories to the AMISOM backed Somali National Army coupled with internal squabbles that could result into a split between adherents of Al Qaeda and those of the Islamic State.
The problem with Americans is thinking their dollars are solutions every thing.