MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab’s second-in-command Mahad Karate has appeared in a video released on Eid-Al-Fitr after claims of his death by Somali and Kenyan governments.
He and other senior leaders of the militant group attended the graduation ceremony of a new Swahili-speaking unit of fighters, and could be seen greeting and hugging the new recruits.
It comes after Somalia’s National Intelligence Agency said he had been fired and was in a dispute with group’s leader while some government officials claimed he had been killed.
The United States placed $5 million bounty on Mahad Karate, Al-Shabaab’s elusive intelligence head due to his role in the militant group’s more than a decade-long insurgency war against the western-backed government in Mogadishu and African Union troops.
In the video, the Islamist militant group called on Muslim youths across the world to join its war against foreign forces in the Horn of Africa nation and bolster its efforts in restoring Sharia-based Islamic government.
The militant group controls large swathes of territory in south and central Somalia and also operates inside Kenya’s Coast and Northeastern provinces where its fighters often carry out attacks on police and military outposts.
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