Ahmad Umar
Ahmed Umar (Somali: Axmed Cumar, Arabic: أحمد عمر), also known as Ahmed Diriye and Abu Ubaidah, is the leader of the Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab. He was listed by the U.S. State Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in April 2015. He has a bounty of $6,000,000 on his head from the Rewards for Justice Program.[1]
Ahmed Umar أحمد عمر | |
|---|---|
 Image of Ahmad Umar taken from U.S. State Department | |
| Born | Ahmed Umar 1972 (age 47–48) |
| Nationality | Somali |
| Other names | Sheikh Ahmed 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 |
History
Ahmed Umar was born in 1972 in Luq, Gedo,[2] or in Kismayo, Lower Juba.[1]
He is believed to be in his forties and is a member of the Bajimaal section of the Dir clan from the Kismayo region of Somalia.[1]
Ahmed 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]
References
- "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.