Ahmad Umar ( so, Axmed Cumar, ar, أحمد عمر), also known as Ahmad Diriye and Abu Ubaidah, is the

Boqor This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali people's various sultanates, kingdoms and empires. Also included are the honorifics reserved for Islamic notables as well as traditional leaders and of ...

of Somalia’s Islamist group Al-Shabaab. He was listed by the U.S.

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...

in April 2015. The

Rewards for Justice Program The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to the ...

currently offers up to 10 million USD for information regarding him.

History

Ahmad Umar was born in 1972 in

El Buur El Buur (; so, Ceelbuur) is a town located in the state of Galmudug in central Somalia. It was formerly the capital of the Galgaduud region. Residents El Buur has been inhabited since at least the 13th century. During the Ajuran Sultanate it ser ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. He is believed to be in his forties and is a member of the Bajimaal section of the

Dir clan The Dir ( so, Dir) is one of the largest and most prominent Somali clans in the Horn of Africa. They are also considered to be the oldest Somali stock to have inhabited the region. Its members inhabit Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia ( Somali, Hara ...

from the

Kismayo Kismayo ( so, Kismaayo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Kismanyy'', ar, كيسمايو, ; it, Chisimaio) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The cit ...

region of Somalia. Ahmad Diriye became the leader of al-Shabaab following the death of the group's former leader,

Ahmed Abdi Godane Ahmed Abdi Godane ( so, Axmed Cabdi Godane; ar, أحمد عبدي جودان; 10 July 1977 – 1 September 2014), also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair, was the Emir (leader) of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group based in Somalia with ties to Al Qaeda. ...

, 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 Lower Juba ( so, Jubbada Hoose, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Jubithy Hoosy'', ar, جوبا السفلى, it, Basso Giuba) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somalia, gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lie ...

region in 2008, and al-Shabaab's governor of

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

and

Bakool Bakool ( so, Bakool, Maay: ''Bokool'', ar, بكول) is a region ('' gobol'') in southwestern Somalia. Overview It is bordered by the Somali regions of Hiiraan, Bay and Gedo. Bakool, like Gedo and Bay, as well as most parts of the Jubbada Dhe ...

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. He was named Al-Shabaab leader in September 2014, after Godane was killed by a U.S. airstrike.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Umar, Ahmad 1972 births Al-Shabaab (militant group) members Al-Qaeda leaders Leaders of Islamic terror groups Living people People of the Somali Civil War Somalian al-Qaeda members Somalian Muslims Fugitives Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government

History

See also

References