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The US has confirmed that Al Shabaab leader Mohamed Mire, also known as Abu Abdirahman, who served as the militant group’s finance head during the Westgate Mall and Dusit-D2 attacks was killed in an airstrike on December 24, 2024.

The US Africa Command (USAC) on Monday said it initiated the airstrike near Quyno Barrow, some 260 kilometres from Mogadishu, killing two Al Shabaab militants, including Mire.

Mire, also known as Abu Abdirahman, was responsible for Al Shabaab’s regional governance in Somalia for the last 15 years.

In addition to being one of Al Shabaab’s longest-serving members, Mire served as the Interior minister and played a key role in the group’s strategic decision-making,” the US military command in Africa, Africom said in a statement.

Al Shabaab had earlier publicly announced the death of Mire but the US, which was behind the strike, had not officially confirmed.

“With pride, honour, and gratitude, we announce to the Muslim Ummah (worldwide Islamic community) the passing of the Mujahid Sheikh Mohamed Mire Jama, the Governor of the Islamic Provinces in Somalia,” the terror group said in a statement.

Africom said it cannot disclose specifics of the mission, stating only that no civilians were harmed.

“The command will continue to assess the results of the operation and provide additional information as appropriate,” said US Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, Africom commander, according to the statement.

Mire has been involved with Al Shabaab in financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or executing attacks in Kenya and Somalia.
He was Al Shabaab’s finance head during the Westgate Mall (2013) and DusitD2 (2019) attacks.

During the Westgate attack on September 21, 2013, four attackers entered the mall in Nairobi and shot and killed several civilians.
While the security forces, supported by international partners, killed all the four attackers, 62 civilians and five Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers lost their lives during the four-day siege.

On January 15, 2019, Al Shabaab launched another attack on Kenyan soil when five militants stormed 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi, which claimed 22 lives.

Mire was also the head of Al Shabaab’s regions department, the militant group’s equivalent of an interior ministry, besides holding multiple other positions within the group.

In July, Somalia’s anti-money laundering committee issued a sanctions list targeting Mire and seven other Al Shabaab commanders.
US officials designated Mire a global terrorist in October 2022, describing him as a senior Al Shabaab leader responsible for the group’s strategic decision-making and head of the group’s interior wing, overseeing many of the group’s activities in Somalia.

He was listed alongside Yasir Jiis, commander of the group’s intelligence wing Yusuf Ahmed Hajji Nurow, also known as Gees Ade, chief of the Amniyat intelligence wing; and Mustaf Abdi Aden, leader of the cell that planned the DusitD2 complex attack in Kenya in 2019.

“Somalia remains central to the security environment in East Africa. US Africa Command’s forces will continue training, advising and equipping partner forces to degrade Al Shabaab,” Africom said.

In 2023, a similar airstrike killed Maalim Ayman, another senior leader of the group.