Al-Qaeda Leaders Use Afghanistan as a Safe Haven
According to both the United States government and the United Nations,
Shabaab constitutes
al-Qaeda’s largest
and wealthiest global branch. Fielding tens of thousands of fighters and
raking in
more than $100 million a year
through various illicit activities, Shabaab dominates the jihadist
landscape across much of East Africa.
In Somalia, it directly
controls or indirectly influences vast swaths of the country’s territory.
In neighboring Kenya, it continues to mount attacks across the country’s
northeastern counties while
also controlling some portions of territory. It has mounted
cross-border raids into Ethiopia
and
has seized territory inside Somaliland. And more historically, it has fielded recruitment networks in areas
such as Tanzania
and Uganda.
However, the al-Qaeda branch is currently facing
one of its most pivotal moments in the last decade. The Somali government,
in conjunction with various international allies and clan militias, have
launched major counter-offensives against the group across southern and
central Somalia. Though the long-term impacts of these offensives are yet
to be determined, the group is nevertheless facing more pressure today
than it has since it was
forced out of Mogadishu
in 2011 and
later from Kismayo in 2012.
Within this context, FDD’s Long War Journal seeks
to document, list, and detail important members of Shabaab’s senior
leadership and key personnel involved in both its operational activities
and shadow governance. The list below will be periodically updated as new
information comes to light, individuals are killed and/or replaced, or new
individuals or positions within Shabaab’s leadership are announced.
Shabaab Leaders and Key Personnel
Last Updated: April 17, 2023 | Click on box to reveal
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Also known as Ahmed Diriye, Abu Ubaidah is the current overall emir of Shabaab after taking the helm following the death of Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr in Sept. 2014. Prior to his appointment as overall emir, Abu Ubaidah served in various capacities within Shabaab's shadow interior ministry. As a regional al Qaeda emir, Abu Ubaidah also serves on al Qaeda's global leadership command.
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Abu Ubaidah Ahmad Umar
Overall Emir
Also known as Ibrahim Afghan (not to be confused with the deceased dual-hatted Shabaab and al Qaeda leader of a similar name), Abukar Ali Adan is believed to be one of the overall deputy emirs of Shabaab. In this role, he helps coordinate military and security efforts on behalf of Abu Ubaidah.
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Abukar Ali Adan
Deputy Emir
Mahad Karate is a senior official within Shabaab, sitting on its main leadership council. Karate is also believed to be one of the overall deputy emirs of the group. According to the US government, Karate also leverages some authority over both Shabaab's Amniyat, or internal security wing, and its financial department. Karate is believed to have coordinated the planning for the deadly 2015 attack on a college in Garissa, Kenya, that killed almost 150 people.
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Mahad Karate
Deputy Emir
Jehad Serwan Mostafa, also known as Anwar al-Amriiki and Emir Anwar, is an American citizen and senior leader of Shabaab believed currently responsible for operational planning and is likely a leader within its explosives wing. In the past he also helped coordinate training, media operations, and its foreign fighters. Mostafa is believed to have been the personal representative of now deceased al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri inside Somalia.
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Jehad Serwan Mostafa
Senior Official
Fu'ad Mohamed Khalaf, or Fu'ad Shongale, is a senior leader of Shabaab that sits on its main leadership council. He has been involved in military planning, as well as financial coordination for the group. Khalaf has appeared in various Shabaab propaganda videos, often at religious events.
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Fu'ad Mohamad Khalaf
Senior Official
Muhammad Bashar Abdulkarim is a senior ideologue of the group, speaking at various religious and military events. He is also likely on Shabaab's Clan Shura, where he works to oversee the group's relationship with its various allied clans given his participation in Shabaab-sponsored clan events and conferences.
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Muhammad Bashar Abdulkarim
Senior Official
Suldaan is a senior official within Shabaab that likely sits on its main leadership council. He has previously been involved in Shabaab's zakat, or taxation, wing, as well as its hisbah (religious police), and emergency and drought relief committees. According to Somali sources, Suldaan also helps maintain the relationship with al-Qaeda's central command.
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Mohamad Mohamud Nur
Senior Official
As of April 2023, Ibrahim Sheikh Ali heads Shabaab's Council of Traditional Elders, responsible for coordinating with the elders and clan heads of various pro-Shabaab clans, and he appeared in a propaganda video speaking to new recruits of the group at one of Shabaab's training centers.
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Ibrahim Sheikh Ali
Senior Official
Ali Mohamad Rage, or Ali Dheere, is the official spokesman of Shabaab and a senior leader of the group that sits on its main leadership council. He has been the official spokesman of the group since 2009 after he replaced former leader Mukhtar Robow in this capacity. The US government also contends that Rage is additionally involved in attack planning in both Somalia and Kenya.
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Ali Mohamad Rage
Official Spokesman
Yusuf Ahmed Hajji Nurow, or more commonly known as Gees Adde, is a long-time senior official within Shabaab’s Amniyat, or internal security wing. As of late 2022, the US government assesses him to be the overall emir of the Amniyat, responsible for the group’s internal security, intelligence, assassinations, and various suicide bomb plots.
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Yusuf Ahmed Hajji Nurow
Amniyat Emir
According to the US government, Mustaf 'Ato is a senior Amniyat official responsible for attack planning in both Somalia and Kenya. He has also been described as a senior advisor to overall emir Abu Ubaidah. 'Ato and his network are believed responsible for the planning for the 2015 attack on a college in Garissa, Kenya, that killed almost 150 people.
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Mustaf 'Ato
Senior Amniyat Official
Jiis is the overall military emir of Shabaab, acting as the commanding officer over its various military wings and units. Under the current understood hierarchy of Shabaab, Jiis answers to Abukar Ali Adan.
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Yassir Jiis
Military Emir
Maalim Osman is in charge of overseeing Shabaab's external operations within its military wing.
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Maalim Osman
External Operations Emir
Abdulaziz Abu Musab is the spokesman for Shabaab's military wing and its operations, often speaking to international media following major attacks. Abu Musab was reported killed by Ethiopia in Aug. 2022, but Abu Musab himself refuted these claims days later.
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Abdulaziz Abu Musab
Military Spokesman
Ahmed Iman Ali, or Abu Zinira, is the founder of Al-Hijra, the former organization that acted as Shabaab's Kenyan wing since 2008. Since 2012, Ali has been recognized by Shabaab's leadership as the overall emir of its Kenyan operations. Much of Al-Hijra was rolled up by Kenyan authorities following the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, but Shabaab still maintains a strong presence inside the country. These operations are under the authority of Ahmed Iman Ali, who is based in Somalia. In 2019, Ali was reported killed but this has since been refuted as the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program re-upped his bounty in 2021.
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Ahmed Iman Ali
Emir of Kenyan Wing
Maalim Ayman is the overall military emir for Shabaab's Kenyan wing, acting under the authority of Ahmed Iman Ali. Maalim Ayman is the leader of Shabaab's so-called Jaysh Ayman, which is the military unit conducting the majority of attacks across northeastern Kenya. Ayman was responsible for the January 2020 attack in Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed one US service member and two US contractors.
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Maalim Ayman
Emir of Kenyan Military Wing (Jaysh Ayman)
The United Nations Panel of Experts on Somalia described Malin Khaled, also known as Mohamed Ibrahim or Madey, as the deputy emir of Jaysh Ayman under Maalim Ayman in 2020. Under this role, Khaled is responsible for overseeing the training of operatives to be sent on operations across East Africa. Khaled was previously an Amniyat official within Somalia's Bakool region.
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Malin Khaled
Deputy Emir of Kenyan Military Wing (Jaysh Ayman)
Mohamoud Abdi Aden is a senior leader within Shabaab's Kenyan wing under the direction of Ahmed Iman Ali. Aden is a Kenyan of Somali origin, but currently based inside Somalia. He is wanted in Kenya for a string of terrorist attacks inside the country dating back to 2014. Aden is believed to have played a major role in the planning of the 2019 Dusit D2 attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
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Mohamoud Abdi Aden
Senior Official in Kenyan Wing
Yasin Kilwe has been the leader of Shabaab's forces in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland since 2014 following the defection of Mohamad Said Atom. Kilwe was previously the leader of a Warsangali clan militia in Puntland prior to pledging his and his militia’s allegiance to Shabaab in 2012. Kilwe also likely directs Shabaab's forces and clandestine cells inside Somaliland.
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Yasin Kilwe
Emir of Puntland Wing
Hassan Yaqub Ali is a senior religious official of Shabaab and likely sits on the group's main leadership council. He was previously Shabaab's shadow governor of Somalia's central Galguduud region. In March 2020, he headed a large-scale religious conference for Shabaab in which various jihadi scholars and ideologues from Somalia and beyond attended.
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Hassan Yaqub Ali
Senior Religious Official
Jama Abdisalam is a senior religious official within Shabaab that often appears at religious events on behalf of the group and is the chief author, or co-signer, of many of the group's fatwas.
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Jama Abdisalam
Senior Religious Official
Abdikarim Horseed is believed to be the overall emir of Shabaab's financial department according to the United Nations Panel of Experts on Somalia and local researchers. It is possible he coordinates his activities with Mahad Karate.
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Abdikarim Horseed
Finance Emir
Hassan Afgooye is the former head of Shabaab's financial department, though still believed to play an important role in raising funds for the group. According to the US Treasury Department, Afgooye oversees a complex financial network, whose activities range from involvement in sham charities and fundraising to racketeering and kidnapping in support of Shabaab.
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Hassan Afgooye
Senior Financial Official
Khalif Adale is a senior financial official coordinating activities with Mahad Karate. According to the US Treasury Department, Adale is Shabaab's finance leader for collecting money from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Adale also brokers nusiness deals between Shabaab and legitimate businesses, handling higher-level payments imposed on businesses, acting as a clan liaison to settle disputes between clans, and recruiting for Shabaab.
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Khalif Adale
Senior Financial Official
The US Treasury Department identified Gagaale as a deputy leader of Shabaab's financial wing, likely working under the direction of both Abdikarim Horseed and coordinating activities with Mahad Karate.
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Abdikarim Hussein Gagaale
Senior Financial Official
According to the US Treasury Department, Nurey is Shabaab's financial leader tasked with coordinating financial activities between Shabaab and Somalia's local private sector. Nurey is also believed to have securely stored, transferred, and laundered fiat and digital currency for al-Shabaab.
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Abdirahman Nurey
Senior Financial Official
Abdullahi Osman, also known as Engineer Ismail, is Shabaab's emir for explosives and manufacturing. Osman is believed to be the foremost explosive expert inside Shabaab. The US government also identifies Osman as a senior advisor to Shabaab's overall emir, Abu Ubaydah, and as the leader of Shabaab's propaganda outlet, Al Kata'ib.
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Abdullahi Osman
Explosives Emir
Abdullahi Osman, also known as Engineer Ismail, is Shabaab's emir for explosives and manufacturing. Osman is believed to be the foremost explosive expert inside Shabaab. The US government also identifies Osman as a senior advisor to Shabaab's overall emir, Abu Ubaydah, and as the leader of Shabaab's propaganda outlet, Al Kata'ib.
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Abdullahi Osman
Media/Propaganda Emir
Abdikadir Mohamad Abdikadir, more commonly known as Ikrima, is a Kenyan-Somali operative who is currently Shabaab's emir for logistics and operational planning. In this capacity, Ikrima likely has a hand in most major operations conducted by the group. Ikrima is considered a long-time veteran of the jihad in East Africa, alleged to have been involved in the 2002 Mombasa plot to shoot down an Israeli airliner. US officials have also stated Ikrima was close to the now deceased dual-hatted Shabaab and al Qaeda leaders, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Saleh Abu Nabhan. Ikrima is believed to have played a key role in Al-Hijrah, Shabaab's Kenyan wing. Ikrima was also the target of a failed special operation mission conducted by Seal Team 6 in 2013. The Kenyan government accuses Ikrima of also helping to plan the 2019 Dusit D2 attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
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Abdikadir Mohamad Abdikadir
Logistics and Operational Planning Emir
Jafar, whose real name is currently unknown, is described by the US government as the deputy emir of logistics and operational planning under Abdikadir Mohamad Abdikadir (aka Ikrima). Jafar is also believed to play a role within Shabaab’s explosives wing.
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Jaffar
Deputy Emir of Logistics and Operational Planning
Abdullahi Jeeri is a senior leader within Shabaab, acting as its emir of weapons procurement. In this role, Jeeri has acquired weapons for al-Shabaab from both local markets and foreign suppliers, primarily in Yemen, according to the US Treasury Department. Jeeri is also believed to sit on Shabaab's main leadership council.
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Abdullahi Jeeri
Weapons Procurement Emir
Maalim Salman, or Emir Salman, has acted as Shabaab's emir of foreign fighters since before 2014, as he was appointed in this capacity by Shabaab's previous emir Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr (killed in September 2014). In this capacity, the United Nations described Maalim Salman as responsible for having trained foreign nationals who were seeking to join Shabaab as African foreign fighters, and has been involved in operations in Africa targeting tourists, entertainment establishments, and churches.
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Maalim Salman
Foreign Fighters Emir
Mohamad Mire is described by the US State Department as a senior Shabaab leader responsible for the group's strategic decision-making and leads the group's interior wing, overseeing many of the group's activities in Somalia. The United Nations Panel of Experts on Somalia stated Mire was the emir of Shabaab's Zakat, or taxation, department in 2020.
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Mohamed Mire
Interior Emir
Hussein Ali Fidow is a senior leader of Shabaab, acting as the emir of policy and regions. In this capacity, Fidow oversees Shabaab's various shadow governors it has appointed to rule its controlled territory across Somalia. He also likely helps coordinate Shabaab's relations with the various local clans under Shabaab's authority. Fidow is also believed to sit on Shabaab's main leadership council.
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Hussein Ali Fidow
Policy and Regions Emir
Abdullahi Moalim Gedow is assessed to be Shabaab's current emir of its Zakat, or taxation and charity, wing by independent experts on Shabaab as of early 2023.
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Abdullahi Moalim Gedow
Zakat Emir
Abdullahi Yare, also known as Abdullahi Nadiir or Ubeyd, was previously the emir of Shabaab's da'wah, or proselytizing, department. Yare was a veteran of the former Islamic Courts Union (ICU), helping to found Shabaab in 2005 as the ICU's youth wing. Yare was reported killed in a US airstrike in Somalia in Oct. 2022. His replacement is currently unknown, though Shabaab itself has not yet confirmed his reported death.
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Abdullahi Yare (deceased)
Da'wah Emir
Somali think tank Hiraal Institute assessed Mahdi Ahmed Hussein to be Shabaab's emir for its hisba wing, or Islamic police, in early 2022.
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Mahdi Ahmed Hussein
Hisbah Emir
Somali think tank Hiraal Institute assessed Ali Ibrahim Geesey to be Shabaab's emir for its medical wing in early 2022.
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Ali Ibrahim Geesey
Medical Emir
Until his reported death by Somalia's NISA in Dec. 2022, Jingab was the head of Shabaab's recruitment and oversaw such recruitment efforts across the country.
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Yusuf Mohamed Jingab (Deceased)
Senior Recruiter
Guled Abu Nabhan has acted as Shabaab’s shadow governor for Somalia's Hiraan region since at least 2018.
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Guled Abu Nabhan
Shadow Governor of Hiraan
Osman Abu Abdi Rahman has served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Bakool region since Sept. 2021 following Shabaab's administrative split of Bay and Bakool. Prior to Sept. 2021, the Bay and Bakool regions acted as one administrative unit in Shabaab's governance structure. Osman Abu Abdi Rahman and Hamsa Abu Jafar replaced Abdullahi Moalim in this capacity.
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Osman Abu Abdi Rahman
Shadow Governor of Bakool
Hamsa Abu Jafar has served as Shabaab’s shadow governor for Somalia’s Bakool region since Sept. 2021 following Shabaab’s administrative split of Bay and Bakool. Prior to Sept. 2021, the Bay and Bakool regions acted as one administrative unit in Shabaab’s governance structure. Osman Abu Abdi Rahman and Hamsa Abu Jafar replaced Abdullahi Moalim Gedow in this capacity.
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Hamsa Abu Jafar
Shadow Governor of Bay
Hassan Abu Hamza has acted as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Mudug region since at least 2021, though he likely has been in this capacity for much longer. He replaced former Mudug shadow governor, Abu Adnan.
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Hassan Abu Hamza
Shadow Governor of Mudug
Abdullahi Abu Khalid has served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Galguduud region since at least Oct. 2018 after he replaced former shadow governor Hassan Yaqub Ali.
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Abdullahi Abu Khalid
Shadow Governor of Galguduud
Mohamad Abu Abdalla has served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Middle and Lower Juba regions (collectively known as Jubaland) since at least 2016 after replacing former shadow governor Hudayfa Abdi Rahman.
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Mohamad Abu Abdalla
Shadow Governor of Jubaland
Dahir Moalim Salad has served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Mogadishu since at least July 2019 after he replaced former shadow governor Ali Mohamad Hussein, aka Ali Jabal, who was killed in a US airstrike. However, Musa Abdi Arrale has been described by Shabaab as its shadow governor for Banadiir, the region that includes Mogadishu and its environs, since at least April 2021. It is unclear if there are two offices - one for Mogadishu specifically and one for wider Banadiir - or if Arrale replaced Salad. The two are combined here to reflect this confusion.
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Dahir Moalim Salad; Musa Abdi Arrale
Shadow Governor of Mogadishu/Banadiir
Yusuf Isse Kaba Kutukade was reinstated in Dec. 2022 as the shadow governor of Middle Shabelle. He replaced Abbaas Abu Mohamed, who served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Middle Shabelle region from Sept. 2019 until Dec. 2022 after initially replacing Kutukade.
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Yusuf Isse Kaba Kutukade
Shadow Governor of Middle Shabelle
Adnan Sahal Abu Turaab has served as Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Gedo region since Feb. 2020. He replaced former shadow governor Abdirahman Abu Mohamed in this capacity.
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Adnan Sahal Abu Turaab
Shadow Governor of Gedo
Abdisamad Abu Abdirahman has been Shabaab's shadow governor for Somalia's Lower Shabelle region since at least 2022 (though he could have acted in this role even before 2022). Abdisamad replaced Mohamad Abu Osama as the shadow governor who entered that role in 2016 after himself replacing Mohamad Abu Abdalla.
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Abdisamad Abu Abdirahman
Shadow Governor of Lower Shabelle
Feature Illustration by Daniel Ackerman
Development by Pavak Patel
