In response to a 2020 attack on an air base in Kenya that killed three Americans, the United States on Thursday offered a $10 million bounty for information leading to the capture of an Al-Shabaab militant leader in Somalia.
The head of the Al-Shabaab unit, Maalim Ayman, will be paid a reward for information that results in his capture and conviction in any nation, according to the State Department.
“Ayman was responsible for preparing the January 2020 attack,” a State Department statement said.
The Somali movement Al-Shabaab, which Washington has classified as a terrorist organisation since 2008, took credit for the attack at the Manda Bay Airfield on Kenya’s northern coast.
According to the authorities, the pre-dawn raid, which killed two American service personnel and a US defence contractor and destroyed six planes, was carried out by the Jaysh Ayman squad.
In order to combat Al-Shabaab, which has recently lost land inside of Somalia as a result of pressure from an African Union force and US airstrikes, the US has closely collaborated with Kenya as well as the precarious government in Mogadishu.
According to a research conducted by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism last year, Al-Shabab created Jaysh Ayman in an effort to infiltrate Kenya.
The unit, which has shown increasing autonomy, reportedly consists of foreigners, dual nationals, and Kenyans of both Somali and non-Somali ancestry.