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Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed

Up to $7 Million Reward

Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed is the founder of Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin (al-Shabaab). He was publicly named emir of the organization in December 2007. Aw-Mohamed has exercised command responsibility for al-Shabaab operations across Somalia. He claimed his group was responsible for the May 2007 assassination of a judge in Beledweyne, Somalia; and in March 2007, he coordinated attacks on Ethiopian troops in Somalia. He has also served as a conduit for financing to al-Shabaab. On November 20, 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated aw-Mohamed under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. Aw-Mohamed was also designated under Executive Order 13536 for contributing to the violence and the deterioration of security in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab was the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts that took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. Al-Shabaab has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia. The group has claimed responsibility for many bombings—including various types of suicide attacks—in Mogadishu and in central and northern Somalia, typically targeting Somali Government officials and perceived allies of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. Al-Shabaab was likely responsible for a wave of five coordinated suicide car bombings in October 2008 that simultaneously hit targets in two cities in northern Somalia, killing at least 26 people and injuring 29 others. Al-Shabaab was responsible for the twin suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, on July 11, 2010, which killed more than 70 people, including one American. The group is responsible for the assassination of Somali peace activists, international aid workers, numerous civil society figures, and journalists. In February 2012, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida announced their formal alliance.

The U.S. Department of State named al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended) on February 26, 2008, and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224 on February 29, 2008.