US Designates 2 Senior Leaders Of Al-Shabab As Global Terrorists - Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2020) The United States has designated two senior leaders of the al-Shabab terror organization as global terrorists, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a statement on Tuesday.

"Today, the Department of State has designated Abdullahi Osman Mohamed and Maalim Ayman, senior leaders of al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based al-Qa'ida affiliate, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs)," Pompeo said.

Pompeo explained in the statement that Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, known as "Engineer Ismail," is the group's senior explosives expert in charge of al-Shabaab's explosives operations and manufacturing.

"He is also a special adviser to the so-called "emir" of al-Shabaab and is the leader of al-Shabaab's media wing, al-Kataib," he noted.

Maalim Ayman, Pompeo continued to say, is the leader of Jaysh Ayman, which is the group's unit carrying out terrorist attacks and operations in Kenya and Somalia. "Ayman was responsible for preparing the January 2020 attack on Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed one U.S. military service member and two American contractors," Pompeo said.

Al-Shabab is widely considered to be the most active affiliate of the al-Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia).