Head worth 10 million dollars: terrorist leader killed in Africa

The commander of an extremist group was eliminated with the participation of the US military

Somali troops and the US armed forces killed a senior commander of the militant group Al-Shabaab (affiliated with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda banned in Russia), on whose head a reward of $10 million was placed. Such a large sum was determined for the terrorist attack that killed three Americans.

“It has been confirmed that Maalim Ayman, a senior al-Shabaab leader, was killed in a joint operation by the Somali National Army with the assistance of the US military on December 17,” Kenyan Information Minister Daoud Aweis said on Thursday.

He said Ayman was responsible for “planning numerous deadly terrorist attacks in Somalia and surrounding countries.”

Islamists associated with al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) have been leading an insurgency against the fragile central government of Somalia for 16 years and control parts of the country’s rural areas in East Africa, notes Agence France-Press.

Maalim Ayman, the leader of an al-Shabaab affiliate called Jaysh Ayman, was wanted by the United States in connection with an attack on an air base in Kenya in January 2020 that killed three Americans.

In January, the US State Department said Ayman was planning a 2020 attack on Manda Bay airfield on Kenya’s northern coast, offering a reward of up to $10 million (£8 million) for information leading to his capture.

Washington has worked closely with Mogadishu to counter al-Shabaab, which has come under pressure from a Somali government offensive launched last year backed by local clan militias and air support from US and African Union forces.

But after making significant progress in retaking territory, the offensive has stalled, raising questions about the Somali government’s ability to fight the Islamists.

A study last year by the George Washington University Program on Extremism said Jaish Ayman was formed by al-Shabaab in an attempt to infiltrate Kenya. The unit, which enjoys increasing autonomy, includes foreigners, dual nationals and Kenyans of Somali and non-Somali origin, it said.

African Union forces deployed to Somalia in 2007 with a six-month mandate but remain on the ground.