Aden Hashi Farah Aero ( so, Aaden Xaashi Faarax Ceyroow, ar, عدن هاشي فرح) (died 1 May 2008) was the military commander of the Al Shabaab. He was from the

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

sub-clan, part of the

Habar Gidir The Habar Gidir (Somali: Habar Gidir, Arabic: هبر جدير) is a major subclan of the Hawiye. The clan has produced many prominent Somali figures, including the first Prime Minister of Somalia Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Somalia's fifth Presi ...

, which is a branch of the

Hawiye The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...

clan. He was reportedly married to Halima Abdi Issa Yusuf. He was among several militants killed in a U.S. airstrike on 1 May 2008.

Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda

Aden Hashi Farah Aero was said to have gone to Afghanistan to train with

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

before 2001, according to Matthew Bryden of

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

. According to International Crisis Group, it was after this stint with the terror organisation that he went back to Somalia in 2003 to set up a network with other

al-Itihaad al-Islamiya Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI; ar-at, الاتحاد الإسلامي, lit=The Islamic Union) was an Islamist militant group in Somalia. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Histor ...

veterans to assassinate foreigners and opponents, culminating in the eventual deaths of four foreign aid workers and at least ten Somali former military and police officers. On 10 June 2006, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' repeated this story by stating, "An unnamed network run by one of Aweys's proteges, Aden Hashi Farah "Aero", has been linked to the murder of four western aid workers and more than a dozen Somalis who allegedly cooperated with counter-terror organisations." He was placed in charge of the Shabaab by

Hassan Dahir Aweys Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (English: ( so, Xasan Daahir Aweys, ( ar, حسن طاهر أويس; born 1935) is a Somali political figure from the Habargidir/Ayr subclan within the Hawiye clan. During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel ...

, but an October 2006 article in ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' indicated Aweys may have had some regrets regarding the appointment.

Attempt on life

Theresa Whelan, the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, in a press conference on 17 January 2007, said she believed the U.S.

AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, attack aircraft, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticate ...

gunship raid which occurred on 8 January had killed eight fighters linked to Aden Hashi Farah Aero. Aero was believed to have been wounded in the attack and perhaps killed. However, on 7 March 2007 an audio tape issued by Aden Hashi Aero was sent to the Koran Radio station in Mogadishu.

Al-Qaeda in Somalia

According to intelligence provided to Somalia's Deputy

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Salad Ali Jelle Salad Ali Jelle ( so, Salaad Cali Jeelle) is the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Republic of Somalia. He was a political figure in the War in Somalia (2006–2009) fought between the TFG and its ally E ...

, Aden Hashi Aero was named by Al Qaeda as its leader in the war-torn nation. It was also reported by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

that the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

have attributed 16 killings to him, including

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Kate Peyton. They also reported a failed attempt to bring down an Ethiopian airliner.

Death

On 1 May 2008, Aero and another important leader of the Hizbul Shabaab, Sheikh Muhyadin Omar, were killed by a U.S.

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

on his house in the town of

Dhusamareb Dusmareb ( so, Dhuusamareeb, ar, سمريب, it, Dusa Mareb) is the capital of Galmudug state in central Somalia. The city also serves as the administrative capital of the Galguduud province. Historically, the city was known as Daar Dheer or sim ...

.France 24 , Eight killed in air strike on Somalia Islamists: residents , France 24
/ref>

Paul Salopek Paul Salopek (born February 9, 1962 in Barstow, California) is a journalist and writer from the United States. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and was raised in central Mexico. Salopek has reported globally for the Chicago Tribune, Foreign ...

reported in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' that jihadists vowed to kill every foreigner in Somalia in response.

References

External links

U.S. Airstrike Kills Somali Accused of Links to Al-Qaeda
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...