Abu Zubayr wounded, Possibly Dead

The leader of Al Shabaab is reported to have been wounded and possibly killed in what appears to be an accidental explosion at a safe house outside Mogadishu.

Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed, the reclusive spiritual leader of the radical al Qaeda-linked terror group, was seriously wounded in the explosion on May 17. He is reportedly being treated at a hospital in northern Mogadishu, according to Garowe Online. Another source, Waaga Cusub, a Toronto-based Somali website aligned with the Hawiye clan in Mogadishu, speculated that Mohamed may have been killed, although the report has not been confirmed.

• Eleven Shabaab fighters and three or four "foreign fighters" were killed in the incident.
• One report indicated that three Pakistanis were among those killed.
• After the incident, Shabaab fighters immediately cordoned the home and prevented witnesses from getting near the site, making confirmation difficult.
• Mohamed, who is also known as Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr and Godane, is reported to have been hosting a meeting of senior Shabaab commanders when the explosion occurred. No other senior leaders have been reported killed or wounded.
• The cause of the explosion is unknown.
• One witness told Waaga Cusub that "missiles" struck the safe house.
• No US airstrike has been reported in the region.
• US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on the reports of a potential strike.
• The US has carried out several strikes against al Qaeda and Shabaab leaders since early 2007.

But the cause of the explosion appears to be a premature detonation of one or more bombs on site. A source close to Shabaab told Garowe Online that one or more car bombs detonated due to faulty wiring.

• Another witness told Waaga Cusub that one of the Pakistanis was training for a suicide attack against African peacekeepers and crossed the wrong wires.
• After the explosion on Sunday, a Shabaab spokesman stated that three car bombs built for use against African peacekeepers had accidentally detonated.
  

Shabaab has carried out numerous suicide attacks inside Somalia and the semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland. The terror group is estimated to have between 280 and 300 foreign fighters in its ranks.

Shabaab has openly lobbied to join al Qaeda, and the offer has been warmly received by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command.

• Mohamed is one of the original founders of Shabaab, or the Young Mujahideen Movement in Somalia.


• In November 2008, Mohamed and two other senior Shabaab leaders were designated as terrorists by the US.


• He has taken on a more visible role since the death of Shabaab's chief military commander Aden Hashi Ayro in a May 1, 2008, airstrike.


• Mohamed rarely appears in the media, but just six days ago released an audio recording in which he denounced the Somali government, led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a former ally during the rule of the Islamic Courts.


• Ahmed and the parliament had attempted to appease the radical Islamist groups by passing a bill imposing sharia, or Islamic law, throughout the country.

Shabaab and the allied Hizbul Islam are battling for control of central and southern Somalia with Islamic Courts factions that reconciled with the weak Transitional Federal Government. Despite the alliance and support from several thousand African Union troops, the Ahmed government controls only small areas of the capital of Mogadishu; nearly all of the southern and central provinces are under Shabaab and Hizbul Islam control.

.....Shabaab recently took control of the town of Jowhar in the central province of Hiran from the Islamic Courts.

• The move sparked an incursion from the Ethiopian Army, which invaded Somalia in December 2006, ousted the Islamic Courts, and occupied the country until its withdrawal in January 2009.
• Ethiopian forces have been spotted moving into Hiran. The incursion has placed the Ahmed government in an awkward position.

The Ethiopians are disliked, but the Islamic Courts and the Somali government are incapable of defeating Shabaab and Hizbul Islam without outside help.

The Rest @ The Long War Journal

The Head of Shabaab Abu Zubayr - a Profile

This is an unverified profile pulled from Free Somaliland. I have found the source to be accurate on BDA, and an apparent supporter of Somliland separatism.

I have never contacted them directly.

Shimron Issachar

Axmed Cabdi Godane (Abu Zubayr), aka ahmad abdi (godane ) aka Mukhtaar C/raxmaan, Ahmed Abdi Ow Mohamud Godane was born in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland SOMALIA: 10 July 1977.

• He is from Arab sub-clan in Isaq clan, one of the dominant clan in northern Somalia.
• He had received a scholarship in Pakistan funded by Saudi blind millionaires.
• He used to visit in Afghanistan during holidays
• In 2001, physically t[h]in, Godane returned to Hargeisa, Somaliland .
• He began preaching in Abu-Bashir mosque in central Hargeisa between 2002 and 2003.
• During that time, Mr. Godane organized some terror attacks against Somaliland security.
• September 19 2002, a group loyal to Godane kidnapped a car owned by WFP.The terror mission led by Jama Kutiye who late caught Dhoqoshley by the Terrorism in Pseudo-State Somaliland security forces.
• December 30, 2000, Godane’s men assassinated Martin in front of his Hotel in Hargeisa.
• Also May 10, 2003, he was responsible for the killing against Analena Tonelli who was an Italian aid worker operating in Borame hospital.
• November 8, 2003, Godane was the master minder of the killing on British couple who were teachers in a school located in Sheekh.
• He was working for El-Barakat Telesom, Somaliland
• Later Godane escaped from Somaliland follwing a row with some of his group over a large amount of money they roped from an Ethiopian businessman.
• They then fled southern Somalia after committing several criminal acts.

His escape was facilitated by his brother who was police officer. Godane was doing the terror operations along with a Somalilander man who was holding a US citizenship and called Ibrahim Hajji Jama known as ‘Ibrahim Afkhani’Godane and Afkhani both had trainings in Afghanistan and made friends in southern Somalia where they diverted their mission and doubled it.

• April 27, 2006, the security forces foiled a terror attack by Godane’s men aimed to kill foreign observers who were monitoring the election in Somaliland . The forces found explosives after the raid. When the Islamic Courts Union came to power in southern Somalia in 2006 Mr. Godane who gave himself the name ‘Abu-Zubeyr became the general secretary for ICU.
• During the start of the war with Ethiopia late 2006, Godane got wounded and flown to Sudan for medical treatment.
• He was brought back in southern Somalia February 20 07 where he continued his terror mission .

Terrorist Ahmed abdi Godane (Abu Zubayr)aka Mukhtaar C/raxmaan , closest friends, includ[e]:

• Abubakar Al-Zaylici,
• lahi Cali Xaashi aka abdulahi ali hashi,
• Xasan Mahdi aka hassan mahdi ,
• qaadir Komaandos aka abdulkadir kumanos
• Maxamud Mire aka mahamud mire,
• samad
• lahi aka abdi samad abdulahi
• Ibraahim Afgaani aka ibrahim afgani
• Fu'aad Shongole aka fuad sangole
• Maxamed Aden Koofi aka mahamad adan kofi.

The Rest @ Terror Free Somalia