U.S. Puts Bounty on al-Shabab Leader for Manda Bay airfield attack

NAIROBI, Kenya - A $ 10 million bounty has been placed on Maalim Ayman’s head by the US State Department. Ayman is a terror suspect accused of planning a January 5, 2020, terrorist attack on US and Kenyan military personnel at Lamu’s Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya.

The US Department of State’s Reward for Justice (RFJ) program says Ayman is the leader of Jaysh Ayman, an Al-Shabaab unit conducting terrorist attacks and operations in Kenya and Somalia.

According to RFJ, Ayman was responsible for preparing the January 2020 dawn ambush that left at least three people dead, more than five wounded, and military equipment worth close to $ 100 million destroyed.

In late 2020 during the peak of COVID-19, the Department of State listed Ayman as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
In the dawn attack, Shabaab terrorists killed a US soldier and two US Department of Defense (DoD) contractors and wounded two other US service members and a third DoD contractor.

In a video subsequently released by Al-Shabaab, a spokesperson for the group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lamu’s Manda Bay Airfield is part of the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) military base used by US armed forces to provide training and counterterrorism support to East African partners, respond to crises, and protect US interests in the region.

Based in East Africa, Al-Shabaab is one of Al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliates and is responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in Kenya, Somalia, and neighbouring countries, in which the group has killed thousands of people, including US citizens.

GAROWE ONLINE