Sh1.2 billion reward: Profiles of the three terrorists wanted by US

Mahad Karate

  • Born between 1957 and 1962
  • Place of Birth: Xarardheere, Somalia
  • Languages Spoken: Somali; Arabic; basic Swahili
  • Associated Location: Somalia
  • Aliases: Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, Mahad Mohamed Ali Karate or Mahad Warsame Qalley Karate
  • serves as al-Shabaab's shadow deputy leader.
  • Has some command responsibility over the Amniyat, al-Shabaab's intelligence and security wing, as well as the group's finances.
  • Amniyat plays a key role in the execution of suicide attacks and assassinations in Somalia, Kenya and other countries in the region
  • Amniyat was responsible for the April 2015 attack on Garissa University College in Kenya that killed nearly 150 people
  • U.S. Department of State on April 10, 2015 designated Karate as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist

Ahmed Diriye

  • Date of Birth: 1972
  • Place of birth: Somalia
  • Associated Location: Somalia
  • Aliases: Ahmed Diriye; Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah; Mahad Diriye; Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah; Sheikh Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah; Sheikh Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah; Sheikh Omar Abu Ubaidaha; Sheikh Ahmed Umar; Sheikh Mahad Omar Abdikarim; Ahmad Umar; Abu Diriye
  • Serves as the leader of al-Shabaab-a position he has occupied since the death of former al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.
  • He was part of Godane's inner circle at the time of Godane's death.
  • Served in several positions within al-Shabaab, including as Godane's assistant,
  • Was the deputy governor of the Lower Juba region of Somalia in 2008
  • Was al-Shabaab's governor of the Bay and Bakool regions of Somalia in 2009.
  • By 2013, he was a senior adviser to Godane, and served in al-Shabaab's "Interior Department"
  • On April 21, 2015, the US Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist

Source: Rewards for Justice (RFJ), an interagency rewards program established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism

Compiled by Standard Checkpoint