Increased reward offers for information on al-Shabaab Leaders

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is increasing its reward offers to up to $10 million each for information leading to the identification or location of al-Shabaab leaders Ahmed Diriye, Mahad Karate, and Jehad Mostafa.

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is increasing its reward offers to up to $10 million each for information leading to the identification or location of al-Shabaab leaders Ahmed Diriye, Mahad Karate, and Jehad Mostafa.

Rewards for Justice is also offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of al-Shabaab. This announcement marks the first time that the Department has offered a reward for information on al-Shabaab’s fundraising and financial facilitation networks.

Al-Shabaab is al-Qaida’s principal affiliate in East Africa and is responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and neighboring countries that have killed thousands of people.

Ahmed Diriye, al-Shabaab’s emir since September 2014 was seen in a video meeting with al-Shabaab fighters prior to the January 2020 attack on Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya that killed one U.S. Army soldier and two U.S. contract personnel and wounded three additional U.S. personnel and one Kenyan soldier.

Mahad Karate is al-Shabaab’s second or shadow deputy emir and continues to lead some al-Shabaab operations. Karate maintains some command responsibility over Amniyat, al-Shabaab’s intelligence and security wing, which oversees suicide attacks and assassinations in Somalia, Kenya, and other countries in the region, and provides logistics and support for al-Shabaab’s terrorist activities.

Jehad Mostafa is a U.S. citizen and former resident of California. Mostafa has served as a military instructor at al-Shabaab training camps, a leader of foreign fighters, a leader in al-Shabaab’s media wing, an intermediary between al-Shabaab and other terrorist organizations, and a leader in al-Shabaab’s use of explosives in terrorist attacks. The FBI assesses Mostafa to be the highest-ranking terrorist with U.S. citizenship fighting overseas.

Al-Shabaab continues to rely on a range of fundraising and financial facilitation networks to sustain their operations and plan terrorist attacks globally. The Department of State is offering rewards for information leading to the identification and disruption of significant sources of revenue for al-Shabaab.

Anyone with information on al-Shabaab’s key leaders, Ahmed Diriye, Mahad Karate, and Jehad Mostafa, and its financial mechanisms should contact Rewards for Justice via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at +1-202-702-7843, or via local tips lines at +252 68 43 43 308 in Somalia and +254 71 87 12 366 in Kenya. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: voa