US offers Sh602m reward for Al Shabaab’s founder

By Luke Anami and BBC

The United States has placed a Sh602 million reward for the capture of Al Shabaab founder and Commander Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamud Godane.

According to BBC reports, it is the first time the US has offered money for specific members of the group, which announced its allegiance to Al Qaeda earlier this year.

Under its Rewards for Justice programme, the US is offering money for six other key members of al-Shabaab.

These include, Ibrahim Haji Jama, co-founder, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, also known as Shongole, financier, who President Barrack Obama’s administration has placed Sh430 million for his capture and arrest.

Others with similar amounts on their heads include Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, military commander and  Mukhtar Robow, also known as Abu Mansur, the spokesman.

Robert Hartung, an assistant director at the US State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, said: “Every time we add someone to the Rewards for Justice Site that is a signal that the US Government takes the fight against terrorism very seriously.”

The move by the US administration comes as African Union forces make key advances against the group.

Last week Kenyan troops together with African Union and Somali government forces captured the town of Afmadow, a strategic militant base in the south of the country. Even though Al-Shabaab still controls much of the country but is under pressure from Ethiopian troops, pro-government militias and the African Union force, which has US and European funding.

The US added Al-Shabaab to its list of foreign terrorist organisations in 2008.

Al-Shabab is known to have recruited a number of foreign fighters - many of whom have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.