One of the leaders of the notorious Somali Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab turned himself in Saturday, according to Somalia’s governing authority.
Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, upon surrendering, had a $3 million dollar bounty placed on him by the United States government, Reuters reports. Hersi is one of seven leading al-Shabaab members wanted by the U.S. — with a total of $33 million offered for information that would lead to their capture.
Somali officials did not give reason for why Hersi surrendered, but they told Reuters he was in charge of al-Shabaab’s finances. If Hersi is indeed in Somali custody, this would mark another major blow to the terrorist group after their chief leader — Ahmed Abdi Godane — was killed by a U.S. drone strike in September.
But the radical Islamic group is disputing the impact of Hersi’s surrender, claiming he hasn’t been involved with al-Shabaab in two years.
“[Hersi] cannot have impact on al Shabaab because he is not a member,” an al-Shabaab spokesman told Reuters.
al-Shabaab is affiliated with al-Qaida and carried out the brutal mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya in September of 2013. The attack left at least 67 dead and is only one of many terrorist acts committed by the group against Kenya and neighboring areas.
The terrorist group wishes to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia law in Somalia.