Ahmad Diriye
Ahmad Diriye | |
|---|---|
 Image of Ahmad Diriye taken from U.S. State Department | |
| Born | Ahmad Umar 1972 (age 51–52)[1] |
| Other names | Sheikh Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah, Sheikh Omar Abu Ubaidaha, Sheikh Ahmed Umar, Sheikh Mahad Omar Abdikarim, Abu Ubaidah, Abu Diriye, Diriye |
| Known for | Leader of Al-Shabaab |
Ahmad Diriye (Somali: Axmed Diriye, Arabic: أحمد ديري; born 1972), also known as Ahmad Umar or Abu Ubaidah al-Somali, is the Emir of Somalia’s Islamist group Al-Shabaab. He was listed by the U.S. State Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in April 2015. The Rewards for Justice Program currently offers up to 10 million USD for information regarding him.[1]
History
Ahmad Diriye was born in 1972 in El Buur, Somalia.[2]
He is believed to be in his fifties and is a member of the Bajimaal section of the Dir clan from the Kismayo region of Somalia.[1]
Ahmad Diriye became the leader of al-Shabaab following the death of the group's former leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, in September 2014. Prior to replacing Godane, Diriye served in several positions within al-Shabaab, including as Godane's assistant, the deputy governor of Lower Juba region in 2008, and al-Shabaab's governor of Bay and Bakool regions in 2009. By 2013, he was a senior adviser to Godane and served in al-Shabaab's "Interior Department," where he oversaw the group's domestic activity. He shares Godane's vision for al-Shabaab's terrorist attacks in Somalia as an element of al-Qa’ida's greater global aspirations.[3]
He was named Al-Shabaab leader in September 2014, after Godane was killed by a U.S. airstrike.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Abu Ubaidah (Direye) - Wanted". Rewards for Justice. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Goldman, David (20 June 2016). "Sheikh Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah Aka Ahmed Diriye; Al-Shabaab's Indifferent Takfiri Emir". Strategic Intelligence. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Terrorist Designations of Ahmed Diriye and Mahad Karate". U.S. Department of State. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Somalia Extremist Group Names New Leader". Associated Press. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
