Top Al Shabab Militant Hersi Surrenders In Somalia

Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, a leader of the Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants, surrendered in Somalia on Saturday.

“Zachary Ahmed was a very senior person who worked with [former Al Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi] Godane,” Jama Muse, a Somali military official, said Saturday. “He was in charge of intelligence and finances. He was one of the senior al-Shabab commanders who the American put a lot of money on their head.”

Godane was killed by an American drone strike in September. In 2012, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to $3 million for information on the whereabouts of Hersi, along with other rewards for additional al-Shabab leaders as part of its Rewards for Justice program.

But as Al Jazeera reported Saturday, the group had begun to fracture before Godane’s death this fall and it was not immediately clear whether Hersi was still a senior leader of al-Shabab at the time of his surrender. BBC’s Africa editor Mary Harper said that Godane and Hersi had a falling-out last year. That split may have led to Hersi’s surrender this weekend.

The news comes after an al-Shabab attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Christmas Day killed nine people, including three African Union soldiers. The group claimed it was targeting a Christmas party as retaliation for Godane’s death, according to the Associated Press. Al-Shabab is trying to undermine the weak central government in Mogadishu with a country-wide insurgency.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement that the U.S. “strongly condemns” the “cowardly terrorist attack.”

“Our support for the people of Somalia, the African Union Mission in Somalia, and Somali government forces in their efforts to defeat al-Shabab will not waver,” Harf said.

Al-Shabab has not yet commented on the Hersi surrender, but warned of “far more grievous and bitter than all preceding attacks” after the Christmas assault. The group was responsible for the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya last year that saw 68 killed and almost 200 injured.

[photo credit: United Nations Photo]

Top Al Shabab Militant Hersi Surrenders In Somalia