US offers $3m reward for Somali terror suspects

WASHINGTON - US officials offered a $3 million reward Friday for help in capturing three notorious Somali terror suspects, including one linked to Al-Qaeda extremists involved in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa.

"The department has authorized rewards of up to $3 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, Jafar and Yasin Kilwe," the State Department said in a statement.

Abdulkadir, a Kenyan of Somali origin who is a foreign fighter with Shebab extremists and goes by the alias Ikrima, was the target of a failed US Navy SEALs assault in Somalia in October.

Shebab insurgents are believed to have killed thousands of civilians, peacekeepers and aid workers in Africa since 2006, with the group claiming responsibility for September's shock attack on a Nairobi shopping mall that left 67 people dead.

"Al-Shebab's terrorist activities pose a threat to the stability of East Africa and to the national security interests of the United States," said the State Department, which designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 2008.

Ikrima is missing three fingers on his left hand, while Jafar is reportedly missing one eye, according to the reward offer.

US officials have linked Ikrima to two now deceased Al-Qaeda operatives who played roles in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

AFP