US designates Alshabab’s Spokesperson to global most wanted terrorist figures

The US state department has added Ali Mohamed Rageh, better known as Ali Dhere who is the spokesperson of Alshabab and Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, also known as Ikrima to the global terrorist list.

Ali Dhere, one of the few public faces in the group, is an influential member of the group’s Shura Council. He has also been the spokesperson of the group since 2009. Ikrima is a Kenyan-born Al-Shabaab operational planner who has long been in the sights of the Americans.

U.S. intelligence officials say that Ikrima is the central intermediary between several Al-Qaeda-linked organizations and that was directly involved in the planning of the infamous 2013 Westgate Mall siege in Kenya’s capital that killed dozens of shoppers.

This is not the first time the US state department has added senior Al Shabaab fighters into the global terrorist list.