Mukhtar Ali Zubeyr, líder da Al-Shabab

Al-Shabab, a terror group, which claimed the responsibility of attacking the Westgate centre mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday in which at least 68 people were killed and over 170 people were injured asserted that its terrorists shot people in retaliation for the deployment of Kenyan troops in Somalia. The group is headed by Sheikh Mukhtar Ali Zubeyr. Here are a few facts about Zubeyr: 1 Sheikh Mukhtar Ali Zubeyr is also known as Muktar Abdirahman 'Godane', Ahmed Abdi Godane, Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohammed, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr and Muqtar Abdurahman Abu Zubeyr. He is the leader of Harakat Al-Shabab Mujahideen, which currently is the most prominent insurgent group in Somalia. He was born in in Hargeisa on July 10, 1977. He hails from the Isaaq tribe of north Somalia. 2 He has received training and fought in Afghanistan, is designated by the United States as a terrorist. He succeeded Sheikh Mukhtar Robow who had held the position for several months after Sheikh Adan Eyrow's death. 3 Ibrahim 'Al-Afghani' who is a key leader in Al-Shabab. He is a veteran of the Afghan Jihad. While in, Godane had worked for Al-Barakat, a Somali remittance company that had been linked to terrorism. Al-Afghani from the 'Arab sub-clan of the Isaaq clan family. 4 In 2006, Godane became the secretary general of the executive council of the Islamic Courts Union, an organisation which was then lead by Sharif Ahmed who is the former President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. 5 In September 2009, Godane appeared in an Al-Shabab video where he offered his services to Bin Laden. The video appeared to be a response to a Bin Laden from March 2009 in which he urged the Somalis to overthrow the newly elected President of Somalia Sharif Ahmed. 6 In January 2010, Godane, speaking on behalf of Al-Shabab, released a statement reiterating his support for Al-Qaeda and stated that they had agreed to join the international jihad of Al-Qaeda. 7 Tensions within Al-Shabab: Godane and his close friend Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad ( aka Ibrahim Al-Afghani) both rose to prominence within the terror group, i.e., Al-Shabab at the same time but, despite their close relationship, the two men had widely divergent views on what the future of the group should be. This resulted in tensions within the organisation and the alienation of many of Godane's oldest friends as it became apparent that his agenda was transnational. Niti.central.com