November 20, 2008HP-1283

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three members of al-Shabaab, a violent and brutal extremist group in Somalia.

"Today's action targets three leaders of al-Shabaab, an al Qaida-linked terrorist group that uses lethal tactics to undermine peace and civil society in Somalia,"

said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control. "These terrorist commanders have had direct involvement in the kidnappings and cold-blooded murders of numerous Somali officials and civilians and they should be cut off from the world's financial system."

Al-Shabaab has used intimidation and violence to undermine the Somali government and threaten civil society activists working to bring about peace through political dialogue and reconciliation. It has claimed responsibility for shooting Deputy District Administrators in Somalia and for several bombings and shootings in Mogadishu targeting Ethiopian troops and Somali government officials.

In addition to attacks that have killed or wounded various Somali government officials, al­-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the February 6, 2008 bombings in Boosaaso, Puntland, which killed 22 Ethiopian civilians and wounded 66.

Further, a number of al-Shabaab members are affiliated with al Qaida, and many of al-Shabaab's senior leaders are believed to have trained and fought with al Qaida in Afghanistan.

The U.S. Department of State named al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on February 26, 2008.

Today's action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

• Any assets these individuals hold under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen
• U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the designees.
  

Identifying Information
AHMED ABDI AW-MOHAMED

AKAs:

• Ahmed Abdi Aw MohammedMuktar
• Abdulrahim Abuzubair
• Shaykh Mukhtar
• Abu Zubeyr
• Godani Godane

• DOB: 10 July 1977
• POB: Hargeysa, Somalia
• Nationality: Somali
  

Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed is the founder and a current leader of al-Shabaab.

• 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.
• Aw-Mohamed has also served as a conduit for financing to al-Shabaab.
  

ISSA OSMAN ISSA

AKA:

• Musse
• Abdullah Bur
• Abdullah Atto
• Abdala Sudani
• Afadey

• DOB: 1973
• POB: Malindi, Kenya
• Nationality: Kenyan

Issa Osman Issa has a leadership role in al-Shabaab and has served as a commander of al­-Shabaab forces in Somalia.

• In late April 2007, Issa led a militia assault against Mogadishu's Basil Hotel, which was often frequented by Ugandan peacekeepers.
• He also was reportedly involved in recruiting an individual to carry out a successful April 2007 suicide attack against the Ethiopian military presence in Afgooye, Somalia.
• Before al-Shabaab's creation, Issa was one of the operatives who fired the surface-to-air missiles used in the failed 2002 attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in Mombasa, Kenya.
• Issa was also involved in the planning of the near-simultaneous attack in 2002 against the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, Kenya, in which a vehicle-borne explosive device struck the hotel, killing 12 and injuring 40.
  

MUKHTAR ROBOW

AKAs:

• Mukhtar Ali Rubu
• Mukhtar Abdullahi Ali
• Mujahid Mukhtar Robow Ali
• Shaykh Mukhtar Robo Ali
• Abu Mansur
• Abu Mansour

• DOB: 1969 ALT. DOB: 10 October 1969*
• POB: Xudur, Somalia
• ALT. POB: Keren, Eritrea
• *Nationality: Eritrean*
• National ID No.: 1372584
• Kenya*Passport No: 0310857, Eritrea, issued 21 August 2006, expires 20 August 2008*

*This identifying information is derived from an Eritrean passport issued under the alias name of Mukhtar Abdullahi Ali.

• Mukhtar Robow serves as al-Shabaab's spokesperson, communicating to the press and public on its behalf. He has also served as al-Shabaab's spiritual leader and as its military commander in Southern Somalia.
• As an al-Shabaab military commander, Robow has targeted Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ethiopian and African Union troops in Somalia.
• In December 2007, Robow's al-Shabaab forces attacked military bases of the Somali government forces, Ethiopian forces and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu.
• In addition, Robow and former al­-Shabaab leader Aden Hashi Ayrow (deceased) were responsible for the November 2006 suicide attack against a TFG checkpoint in Baidoa, Somalia. The attack killed at least eight and wounded four.
  

The Rest @ the US Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Asset Control