Al Shabaab's Executive Council and Their Clans

This was originally published 5 May 2001, and lays out key figures in al Shabaab leadership. Most names are well known, some are not, some are now dead.

- Shimron Issachar

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MOGADISHU (Sunatimes) The executive council of Al-Shabaab militant group in southern Somalia are 85 members of Somalis and foreigners. 42 of that figure are Somalis while the rest are Al-Qaeda operatives from different outside countries as indicated in a year long investigation made by reporters from Waagacusub Media and Radio Mogadishu.

The leader of the Al-Qaeda members fighting along side Al-Shabaab insurgent group in Somalia is Fazul Abdullah Mohamed of Comorous Islands as his deputy is Mohamed Faadil of Saudi Arabia while the head of the network's military operations was Khalid Al-Muhajir Al-Mustafa who was killed in the current ongoing fighting in Mogadishu between Al-Shabaab and the government troops backed by the African Union peacekeepers on 3 September 2010.

Foriegner Al-Qaeda fighters who escaped from thier origin countries and are still at large have a big influence in Al-Shabaab administration in Somalia and this may certainly create bigger security concern in the East Africa region.

The names, ranks and clans of the Somali executive members in Al-Shabaab are as here below:-

1. Ahmed Abdi Godane (Abu-Zubeyr), the leader of Al-Shabaab from Isaq clan of Arab sub-clan.

2. (Abu-Zalma)Ibrahim Haji Jama Meecaad Afkhani , the first deputy leader of Al-Shabaab and in charge of finance, from Isaq clan of Sacad Muse sub-clan.

3. Mukhtar Robow Ali (Abu-Mansor), the second deputy leader of Al-Shabaab, from Rahanweyn clan of Leesaan sub-clan.

4. Fuad Mohamed Khalaf (Ina-Shangole), the head of public awareness of Al-Shabaab, from Darod clan of Awrtabe sub-clan.

5. Mukhtar Abu-Muslim, the head of Fatwas, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

6. Khalif Mohamud Warsame (Khalif Cadale) the head of tracking down the NGO's, from Hawiye clan of Habar-Gidir, Ayr.

7. Madey Mamad Karatay, the head of destroying the graves, from Tuni clan.

8. Omar Mohamud Jimale (Matan), the head of security guards of Godane, from Hawiye clan of Duduble sub-clan.

9. Ali Muhumad Rage (Ali Dhere), the spokesman for Al-Shabaab, from Hawiye clan of Murursade sub-clan.

10. Abdulahi Timo Jilic, the head of technician for the weapons and salesman, from Hawiye clan of Murursade.

11. Hassan Afgooye, the especial servant for Godane, from Dir clan of Biyo-Maal.

12. Abdulahi Nadir, the interpretor for Godane, from Isaq clan of Toljecel sub-clan.

13. Hussein Ali Fidow (Hussein Daynile), the head of regions, from Hawiye clan of Murursade sub-clan.

14. Hassan Dhere, the head of the roped property, from Hawiye clan of Habar Gidir, Ayr sub-clan.

15. Hassan Afrah, the head of relationship with pirates, from Hawiye clan of Saleban sub-clan.

16. Mohamed Omar, the head of services and caring for the foreign fighters, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

17. Bashir Qoorgaab, the commander of mortar brigade, from Hawiye clan of Habar gidir, Saleban sub-clan.

18. Ahmed Osoble, the police commander, from Hawiye clan of Hawadle sub-clan.

19. Mahad Karatey but known as (Sheik Burhan), the head of trainings, from Hawiye clan of Ayr sub-clan.

20. Ahmed Fifle, the head of finance, from Hawiye clan of Habargidir,Eyr sub-clan.

21. Hassan Turki, the father of Mujahideens and leader of Raskamboni brigades, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

22. Mohamed Dulyaden, the contector of Raskamboni and Al-Shabaab, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

23. Farhan Moahmed Kahiye, the head of defence, from Hawiye clan of Saleban sub-clan.

24. Abdulahi Hirane, the head of lower Shabelle region, from Dir clan of Biyo-maal sub-clan.

25. Dahir Gamaey but uses the name (Abdi Al-Haq), the judge of Al-Shabaab, from Hawiye clan of Duduble sub-clan.

26. Ali Muse, the treasure, from Hawiye clan of Habargidir, Faqashini sub-clan.

27. ali Mohamed Hussein, the head of Banadir province, from Hawiye clan of Abgal sub-clan.

28. Abdulahi Haji (Daud), the head of assasinations, from Hawiye clan of Murursade sub-clan.

29. Omar Faruk, the head of police in Banadir province, from Darod clan of Majerteen sub-clan.

30. Mohamed Balli, the head of the propogandas (the man who described Hawiye as infedals) from Darod clan of Majerten sub-clan.

31. Aden Oonbe, the head of social affairs, not known yet for his clan.

32. Farah Ali Hussein, the head of Dacwa in middle Shabelle region, from Hawiye clan of Abgal sub-clan.

33. Yusuf Kaba Kudukade, the head of Galgadud region, from Hawiye clan of Abgal sub-clan.

34. Abdiqani Kaba Jecel, the deputy mayor of lower Shabelle region, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

35. Abdirahim Ali Mudey, the head of taxes for coil production, from Hawiye clan of Galjecel sub-clan.

36. Hassan Qodax, the head of militias in Gedo, from Darod clan of Marehan sub-clan.

37. Hussein Daqare, the head of Gedo region, from Darod clan of Marehan sub-clan.

38. Ali Roti, the man in charge of burying the children killed in the war, from Darod clan of Majerten sub-clan.

39. Abshir Ali Bukhari, the head of middle Shabelle region, from Darod clan of Ogaden sub-clan.

40. Yusuf Moalim Abdukadir, deputy leader, not known yet for his clan.

41. Mohamud Mohamed Nor (MMNOR), the deputy commander in chief for the invasions, from Isaq clan of Habarjeclo sub-clan.

42. Sahal Isku Dhuuq, the head of kidnappings of aid workers for ransom, from Dir clan of Biyomaal sub-clan.


The Rest @ Sunatimes

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed - Abu-Abdirahman the Canadian",

FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was born in the early 70s’ in Comoro Islands . He moved to Nairobi, Kenya s’ capital and in 1994 became the secretary of Wadih el Hage in the “Help Africa’s People”, a Muslim charity organization. That job, probably, linked Fazul Abdullah Mohammed later to Al Qaeda.

In 1996 Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was clearly affiliated to Al Qaeda. When one of the co-founders of the organization and the head of East Africa region - Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri - sank in Lake Victoria, on the ferry MV Bukoba, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was sent to the scene to verify Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri s’ death.

It is known that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed used to travel betweenMogadishu in Somalia, which was his safe haven, to Kenya and back.

The name of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed as, presumably, the East African leader of Al Qaeda came up following the investigation of the 08/07/1998attack in Kenya and Tanzania and he became wanted by USA and Kenyan Authority.

In late 2001 Fazul Abdullah Mohammed traveled to Monrovia, Liberia, inWest Africa, with another suspect in the embassy bombings, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. The UK's Observer newspaper reported in 2002 that the two men allegedly ran a lucrative Al Qaeda financing operation, trading illegal "blood diamonds" for cash.

On 07/12/2002 Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was arrested in Nairobi, Kenyawith Saleh Ali Nabhan, who later participated in the Mombasa Paradiseattack, for using forged credit cards. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed managed to fool the police and to escape shortly after his arrest.

In 08/2002 Fazul Abdullah Mohammed snicked back to Kenya and began to organize the Mombasa Paradise attack that was executed on 11/28/2002. Using the Alias Abdul Karim, he spent much of the time before the attack with the Mombasa cell in Mohammed Kubwa Mohammeds’ farm house, that served as the base of operation for the attack. Kubwa Mohammed subsequently allowed his daughter Amina to marry Fazul Abdullah Mohammed in late December 2002.

Days before the Mombasa Paradise attack Fazul Abdullah Mohammed fled back to Somalia. He returned several times to Kenya. In 08/2003 Fazul Abdullah Mohammed escaped arrest when his host Faisal Ali Nasur blew himself up with a hand grenade in the old city of Mombasa and prevented the police from catching Fazul Abdullah Mohammed. The second time, in 10/2003 he, once again, evaded arrest as he came two hours late to a meting with a former colleague, Mohammed Kubwa Mohammeds’ son in law, Ali Hamza Fody, who cut a deal with the Kenyan authority and became an informant of the police. The FBI also included Fazul Abdullah Mohammed in the Summer 2004 Alert .

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed temporarily disappeared from his pursuers. On Sunday 01/07/2007, after the Ethiopian-Somali War, USA carried out an air strike in South Somalia, according to intelligence sources, in order to kill Fazul Abdullah Mohammed but he managed to escaped unharmed.

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed uses many aliases, the most common was Haroon .

* According to unconfirmed reports and the Kenyan police in Nairobi, on Saturday 06/11/2011, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was killed in Mogadishuby Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces at a roadblock in the Afgooye corridor, a roughly 20km-long strip of land north-west of Mogadishu, at about 0200 on Wednesday 06/08/2011, regional security sources told AFP. Somali sources told AFP that Abdullah was carrying some $40,000 in cash and a South African passport bearing the name "Daniel Robinson".

Issued on 04/13/2009, it indicated that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed had left South Africa on 03/19/2011 for Tanzania, where he was granted a visa. He appeared to have come from Lower Juba, in southern Somalia, where he was heading a group of foreign fighters under the name of "Abu-Abdirahman the Canadian", the sources added.

In 2007, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed survived a US air strike on the southern Somali coastal village of Hayo, near the town of Ras Kamboni (see - Attempt 01.09.07

The Rest @ Global Jihad

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed reported Dead

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is reported dead. (see story below). Of note is that he was carrying $40,000 in Cash and South African Passport.

It has been speculated that Fazul was trying to escape, as room for sanctuary in Al Shabaab's land is disappearing as Transitional Government Troops.

It is interesting that he was taking $40,000 when al Shabaab is suffering from a lack of cash.

I wonder of the rest of al Qaeda Mujahadeen in Somalia are sitting on large caches of "escape" funds.

Any thoughts?

-editor

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Al-Qaida militant who masterminded attacks on two US embassies in East Africa shot dead by security forces

The mastermind of the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa – the attack which brought the al-Qaida terrorist group to global attention – was reported killed in Somalia.

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, who had a $5m (£3m) price put on his head by US authorities, was widely seen as one of the most wanted Islamic militants in the world.

The 1998 attacks killed more than 200 and injured several thousand people. The vast majority of the casualties were local African staff or passers-by caught in the multiple explosions that destroyed the embassies.

The then US president Bill Clinton ordered punitive missile strikes into Afghanistan and Sudan following the bombings, which had little effect other than reinforcing the notoriety of those responsible.

The news comes six weeks after al-Qaida's leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan. Last week, Ilyas Kashmiri, another senior militant with ties to al-Qaida, was reported to have been killed.

Kenyan police, who cited Somali officials, said on Saturday that Abdullah had been shot dead after he and an associate refused to stop at a checkpoint northwest of Mogadishu earlier last week.

The dead man, thought to be 38-years-old, carried a false passport and $40,000 in cash.

"We have confirmed he was killed by our police at a control checkpoint this week," Halima Aden, a senior national security officer in Somalia, told Reuters.

"He had a fake South African passport and, of course, other documents. After thorough investigation, we confirmed that it was him," Aden added.

It was not immediately possible to confirm Abdullah's death independently – though the AFP news agency published images of the face of the dead man which resembled images previously published by US investigators.

There was also confusion over what had happened to Abdullah's remains: some reports said they had been buried and others claimed they had been handed to US authorities.

In addition to acting as operational chief for the 1998 attacks, Abdullah is thought to have organised the 2002 attacks on Israeli targets, including a plane, in Mombassa and to have narrowly escaped death in a US air strike in Somalia in 2007. Born in the Comoros Islands, he was educated in Saudi Arabia before travelling to Afghanistan in the early 1990s. He is thought to have been in Mogadishu in 1993 during fighting there.

US authorities have steadily tracked down almost all those responsible for the 1998 bombing attacks, and many were brought to trial in the US in 2001.

The death of Abdullah will be a loss for al-Qaida in east Africa, where he was active, area but is unlikely to have a significant impact on the overall capabilities of the leadership element based in Pakistan. Like most regional branches of al-Qaida, even those violent Islamic extremists in east Africa who have sworn allegiance to Bin Laden have remained largely autonomous. Abdullah was one of the few militants based in Africa who followed a global agenda and who was willing to launch attacks on international targets.

The Rest @ the Guardian (UK)

Reports of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Hiding in Madagascar, 2007

Unknown new source...
Intersting News (second) Published on September 2nd, 2007 by Fides.org

-Shimron


AFRICA - Is Africa the new battle field in the war on terrorism?
Rome (Fides Service)- Could Africa be the new battle field in the war waged by the United States and its allies against terrorism inspired by the figure of Bin Laden? This is the question which emerges when reading events of recent weeks.

According to a local newspaper in Madagascar a leading Al Qaida member Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is hiding in the Indian Ocean island. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is listed by the US government as one of the 35 most wanted terrorists suspected of involvement in bombing attacks on American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 228 people and injured another 5,000.

Washington has promised a 5 million reward for his capture and according to Midi Madagasikara which quotes various sources including military fonts, Mohammed is head of Al Qaida operations in east Africa and his hiding place is the city port Majunga, north western Madagascar.

However so far the government of Antananarivo has neither confirmed nor denied Fazul Abdullah Mohammed’s presence on the Island.

Also in Madagascar, on 31 January, a brother in law of Osama bin Laden, Saudi businessman Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was killed at his home during what appeared to be an armed robbery.

According to local sources contacted by Fides, the mysterious death of Khalifa triggered polemic in the country. “Some local newspapers- the sources told Fides - reporting news seen in Arab media, attributed the killing of Khalifa to foreign secret services, and accused the Malagasy government of supplying the executors with necessary information”.

The Rest @ Fides.org

Al-Qaida in Madagascar?

ON 2-5-07 it was reported that A senior member of the al-Qaeda network - A senior member of the al-Qaeda network - Fazul Abdullah Mohammed - is in hiding on the island of Madagascar off the coast of southern Africa, reports said Monday.

Fazul was deeply invovled in the West African Blood diamond trades, but disappeared a a couple of years ago, Is he the gem-dealer replacing the brother-in-law of Osam BIn Laden who recentky dies under mysterious circumstances?

read the rest