WANTED: Ahmed Iman. WANTED: Mohammed Kuno.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
THE police have unmasked two al Shabaab terror commanders linked to the spate of attacks in Kenya and appealed for information on their whereabouts.
Terrorists Mohammed Kuno and Mohammed Iman have been linked to the strings of attacks in northern Kenya, including the recent Mandera killings of quarry workers.
At least 64 people have been killed in terror attacks by the militia group this year.
Police said Kuno, also known as Dulyadinaka Gamadheereis, who is suspected to be hiding in Kenya, is al Shabaab’s Jabha (military) leader for the Juba region of Somalia.
The militants have established a Jabha Unit in every region of Somalia.
He is also infamous for having an extensive terrorist network within Kenya, particularly in the Dadaab refugee camp.
Kuno claimed responsibility for the November 22, 2014, Makka Bus attack in Mandera, where 28 people were killed.
Police said the man has been mistaken to be very religious and has worked as a Madrassa teacher for several years.
He worked for Al Haramain Foundation between 1993 and 1995, before the institution was closed down.
At the time, he was known as Sheikh Mahamad Afte.
He also served as a teacher and principal at Madarasa Najah in Garissa from 1997-2000, where his extremist tendencies became clear.
Kuno joined al Shabaab after being motivated by the ideology of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) to establish an Islamic state in Somalia.
Intelligence reports indicate that he is in charge of external operations against Kenya and commands al Shabaab activities along the Kenya-Somalia border. He is said to have commanded the terror attacks in Garissa, Mandera and Lamu.
The second suspect, Iman, is said to be an Engineering graduate of the Jomo Kenyatta University and is the head of video production for al Shabaab Media.
He is said to have undergone training after he was recruited into the radical group by controversial cleric Aboud Rogo.
Before joining al Shabaab, he worked for a leading oil company in Kenya.
Police said Iman was captured in a recent video stating that the Mandera attacks were carried out to avenge the killing of radical preachers allied to al Shabaab such as Sheikh Aboud Rogo, Abubakhar Sheikh Ahmed, aka Makaburi, and Sheikh Samir Khan.
In the video, al Shabaab operatives are seen praising the slain radical clerics.
BIODATA
Name: Mohamed Kuno
Aliases: Sheikh Mahamadaka, Dulyadinaka Gamadheereis
Nationality: Kenyan
Tribe: Ogaden
Sub-tribe: Abduwak
Clan: Rer Kassim
Wife: He has three wives
First wife (identity unknown) is a resident of Huda near Ras Kamboni and hails from the Majerten Clan.
His second wife (identity unknown) is from the Marehan Clan and lives in Garissa.
His third wife, Sultano Feysal Dubat, resides in Bulla Iftin, near Bulla Iftin Secondary School, Garissa, and hails from the Harun Clan.
Mother: Ralia Mohamed Wardere
Alias: The Iron Lady
Siblings: Abdi Yussuf, Ali Adan, alias Abdi Mulla, the al Shabaab leader who accidentally shot himself with his own pistol while demonstrating safety precaution techniques to new recruits in Kismayu. He survived the accident.
Hussein Mohamed Ali, alias Hussein Marerey, an employee of the Wajir South Development Agency (WASDA).
Abdi Ismail Ali, Gamadhere’s half-brother. He is said to be conducting recruitment of youths for al Shabaab at Gamadhere’s behest.
BIO DATA
Name: Ahmed Iman Ali
Aliases: Abu Zinira
Nationality: Kenyan
Tribe: Meru- Bajuni
Wife: Married to Famia Mustapha Karenga in Kisauni in June 2014, and Hadija Nduta Njuguna, currently vice-secretary at Pumwani’s Riyadha Mosque
Father: Iman Ali, currently in Meru
Mother: TatuIddi, currently said to be in Majengo
Siblings: Ali Iman, Abdul Iman, Hassan Iman and Mariamu Iman, married in Mombasa