BEWARE OF EXTREMISM
Leaders:
1. Ahmad Umar (Abu Ubaidah) (2014–)
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2. Mukhtar Al-Zubeyr “Godane" (2007–2014)– Somali sub-clan of northern Isaaq clan (killed in U.S. drone strike in 2014)
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Other leaders:
1. Mukhtar Robow "Abu Mansoor “– Second Deputy Leader and regional commander in charge of Bay and Bakool. (surrendered to Somali forces in 2017.)
2. Fuad Mohammed Khalaf "Shangole" – third-most important leader after "Abu Mansoor" In charge of public affairs. (Awrtabe sub-clan of Darod)
3. Hassan Dahir Aweys– spiritual leader (surrendered to Federal Government in 2013.)
4. Hussein Al Fidow– political chief and Wasiir (Prime Minister)
5. Ali Mohamud Raghe "Dheere" a.k.a. Sheik Mohamud Ali Rage a.k.a. Sheikh Ali Dhere – current Deputy Amir. He is from Hawiye Murusade clan. Official spokesman. (Not to be confused with the Sheikh Ali Dhere who established the first Islamic court
in Mogadishu in 1996).
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6. Aden Hashi Farah "Ayro" – central Hawiye clan (killed in U.S. airstrike in 2008.)
7. Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad "al-Afghani" (Abubakar al-Seyli'i) – He was Governor of the Kisimayo administration (killed by Godane loyalists in 2013.)
8. Hassan Yaqub Ali – was official spokesman of the Kisimayo administration but currently he is Waali (governor) of Gal-Mudug (Rahanwayn clan)
9. Abdirahman Hassan Hussein – leader (Governor) of the Middle Shabelle region
10. Hassan Abdullah Hersi "al-Turki" – leader of the Ras Kamboni Brigades, which controls the Juba Valley and was first part of Hizbul Islam but merged with al-Shabaab in 2010. (Ogaden sub-clan of Darod) (Died of natural causes in 2014.)
11. Mohamed Said Atom – faction leader and arms dealer who in July 2010 announced allegiance to al-Shabaab and the al-Shabaab commander in Puntland. (surrendered to Federal Government in 2014.)
12. Mukhtar Abu-Muslim – head of fatwas, from Rahanweyn clan.
13. Abdulahi Haji "Daud" – head of assassinations, from Hawiye clan of Murursade sub-clan.
14. Sahal Isku Dhuuq– head of kidnappings of aid workers for ransom, from Dir clan of Bimaal sub-clan.
15. Hassan Afrah, – head of relationship with pirates, from Hawiye clan of Saleban sub-clan.
16. Dahir Gamaey "Abdi Al-Haq] – judge of al-Shabaab, from Hawiye clan of Duduble sub-clan.
17. Tahliil Abdishakur – head of the elite Al-Amniyat assassination unit (killed in U.S. drone strike in 2014).
18. Yusuf Dheeq – chief of external operations and planning for intelligence and security (killed in U.S. drone strike in 2015).
19. Aden Garaar – head of external operations of al-Shabaab; reportedly orchestrated the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi (killed in U.S. drone strike in 2015).
20. Mohamed Musa – Gedo province commander (killed in skirmish with Somali army in 2015).
21. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab - Military operations spokesman.
Foreign leaders and members:
1. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed: Mohammed, a Kenyan national, was appointed by Osama bin Laden as Al-Qaeda's leader in East Africa in late 2009. Before the death of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, Mohammed served as the military operations chief for Al-Qaeda in the region. He was an experienced militant commander who was known to be able to cross national borders with ease. In August 2008, he eluded a police dragnet in Kenya. Mohammed had been hiding in Somalia with Shabaab and the Islamic Courts for years. Mohammed was considered al-Shabaab's military leader, while Muktar Abdelrahman Abu Zubeyr was al-Shabaab's spiritual leader. He was killed on June 8, 2011.
2. Jehad Serwan Mostafa (alias "Ahmed Gurey", "Anwar al-Amriki" and "Emir Anwar"): a US-born senior al-Shabaab commander. In charge of various functions for the militant group, including serving as a leader for foreign fighters within the organization as well as training insurgents. Fluent in English, Somali and Arabic, he is also a media specialist.
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3. Shaykh Muhammad Abu Fa'id: Fai'd, a Saudi citizen, serves as a top financier and a "manager" for Shabaab.
4. Abu Musa Mombasa: Mombasa, a Pakistani citizen, serves as Shabaab's chief of security and training.
5 Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki: Amriki, whose real name was Omar Hammami, was a U.S. citizen who converted to Islam and traveled to Somalia in 2006. Once in Somalia, he quickly rose through the ranks. He served as a military commander, recruiter, financier, and propagandist. Amriki appeared in several al-Shabaab propaganda tapes. He became a primary recruiter for al-Shabaab; issued written statements on their behalf and appeared in its propaganda videos and audio recordings. An indictment unsealed in August 2010 charged him with providing material support to terrorists. In January 2013, Amriki was ousted from al-Shabaab because it felt he had joined in a "narcissistic pursuit of fame". He then publicly voiced ideological differences with the group via YouTube and Twitter, asserting that local militant leaders were only concerned with fighting in Somalia and not globally. He was assassinated by the insurgents in September 2013. He was removed from the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list in November 2013. He was removed from the US State Department's Rewards for Justice list in January 2014.
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6. Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir ("Ikrima"): a Kenya-born Somali al-Shabaab commander alleged by the Kenyan government to have planned several attacks in the country, including a plot to target the UN's bureau in Nairobi, the Kenyan parliamentary building, and an Ethiopian restaurant patronized by Somali government representatives. According to US officials, Abdulkadir was also a close associate of the late Al-Qaeda operatives Harun Fazul and Saleh Nabhan.
7. Mahmud Mujajir: Mujajir, a Sudanese citizen, is Shabaab’s chief of recruitment for suicide bombers.
8. Samantha Lewthwaite: Allegedly an al-Shabaab member, she is believed to have been behind an attack on a sports bar in Mombasa in 2012. Widow of 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay.Born in 1983 in Northern Ireland and known as a white widow,
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9. Issa Osman Issa: Issa serves as a top al-Qaeda recruiter and military strategist for Shabaab. Before joining, he participated in the simultaneous attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998. He has been described as a central player in the simultaneous attacks on the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, Kenya, in 2002, and the attempt that year to down an Israeli airliner in Mombasa.
10 .Mohamed Mohamud, also known as Sheikh Dulayadayn, Gamadhere, or Mohamed Kuno, a Kenyan citizen of Somali origin who served as a commander of al-Shabaab operations in Kenya. Named by the Kenyan government as the mastermind behind the Garissa University College attack. He was killed alongside 16 other militants in an overnight raid by Somali forces on June 1, 2016.
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