Al-Shabab leader wanted by US surrenders

A highly sought after al-Shabab leader with
a $3m bounty on his head has surrendered
to government and African Union forces, a
Somali intelligence officer has said.
Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi surrendered to
Somali police in the Geddo region where
Somalia borders Kenya and Ethiopia, the
officer said.
“Zakariya Ahmed was a very senior person
who worked with Godane,” said regional
military official Jama Muse, referring to
former al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane,
who was killed by a US air strike in
September.
“He was in charge of intelligence and
finances. He was one of the senior al-
Shabab commanders who the Americans put
a lot of money on their head,” he added.
An al-Shabab media spokesman told Al
Jazeera that Hersi had left the group two
years ago and that he was then a mid-level
commander – not an intelligence chief as
claimed by Somali officials..
Military official Mohamed Osmail said Hersi
was hiding in a house in a border town, and
made contact with government officials in
order to hand himself in.
Another intelligence source said the
surrender was believed to have been
motivated by a series of recent bloody
splits and purges within the group, with
Godane having ruthlessly eliminated many of
his rivals and his successor, Ahmad Umar
Abu Ubaidah, continuing to maintain strict
internal security.
Hersi was one of eight top al-Shabab
officials whom the US administration offered
a total $33m in rewards for information
leading to their capture in 2012.
Despite suffering major losses such as
losing major cities, al-Shabab remains a
threat in Somalia and Kenya.
While the government offered an amnesty to
al-Shabab members in September, none of
the key leaders of the group has so far
taken up the offer.