Overview
Yahye Ahmed Mohamud is a senior member of al-Shabaab. As of December 2024, Mohamud served as the head of suicide bombing for Somalia’s Banadir region, which includes the country’s capital of Mogadishu.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack.
Mohamud has been a senior member of al-Shabaab’s explosives team since at least July 2019. At some point during his tenure as a senior official, Mohamud was named deputy to Mohamed Abdullahi, al-Shabaab’s head of explosives. Mohamud played a critical role in the July 13, 2019, attack on Kismayo, Somalia, during which an al-Shabaab suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled vehicle followed by a mass shooting at the Asasey Hotel. The attack lasted for more than 14 hours and killed 26, including a prominent journalist, several foreigners, and multiple civilians. More than 50 were also injured.“Kismayo attack: At least 26 dead as gunmen storm Somali hotel,” BBC News, July 14, 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48969781.
Beyond military operations, Mohamud reportedly collaborates with corrupt government contacts to facilitate the transfer of money that al-Shabaab receives through imposing zakat, the Islamic tax, on businesses. The funds are reportedly reinvested into real estate to evade detection from Western sanctions to prevent the movement of financial assets.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack.
Mohamud is a close affiliate and maternal relative of Somalia’s Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf al-Adaala.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack. Mohamud and al-Adaala share business interests across Mogadishu, Dubai, and Nairobi, suggesting a financial link between al-Shabaab and the Somali government. These interests include powdered milk exports, with ties to the Banadir hospital, and apartment complexes in Pangani, Nairobi, in part financed by Premier Bank. Premier Bank, of which al-Adaala is a reported shareholder, has previously been implicated in laundering funds for al-Shabaab. Further details of the financial institution’s affiliation with the terror group remain limited.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack. Given Mohamud’s financial ties to Kenya, Kenya’s Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) closely monitors Mohamud’s activities.“KENYA: Nairobi's Real Estate Sector is Being Exploited by Terror Financiers,” Horn Observer, February 27, 2025, https://hornobserver.com/articles/3219/KENYA-Nairobis-Real-Estate-Sector-is-Being-Exploited-by-Terror-Financiers.
Despite Mohamud’s senior role in al-Shabaab, in October 2022 al-Shabaab temporarily shut down one of al-Adaala’s Mogadishu properties and demanded payments from Mohamud’s and al-Adaala’s businesses before the military group would vacate. Al-Adaala’s brother negotiated with al-Shabaab associates before transferring $200,000 to the terror group.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack.
Mohamud has overseen several fatal attacks in Mogadishu. In one attack on March 15, 2024, al-Shabaab gunmen detonated two explosives prior to storming the Syl Hotel, an establishment frequented by government officials.“KENYA: Nairobi's Real Estate Sector is Being Exploited by Terror Financiers,” Horn Observer, February 27, 2025, https://hornobserver.com/articles/3219/KENYA-Nairobis-Real-Estate-Sector-is-Being-Exploited-by-Terror-Financiers; “Somalia’s Syl hotel attacked by al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu,” BBC News, March 15, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68569023. In the 12-hour siege, al-Shabaab militants killed three soldiers and injured 27 others before Somali security forces overpowered the assailants. Among those injured were a government spokesperson and three members of parliament.“Somalia's Syl hotel attacked by al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu,” BBC News, March 15, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68569023.
Mogadishu intelligence further identified Mohamud as the mastermind of the August 2, 2024, al-Shabaab suicide bombing in Lido Beach, during which a suicide bomber and gunmen killed 37 and wounded 247 others.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack; “Somalia beach attack kills 37 civilians, minister says,” Reuters, August 3, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/explosion-goes-off-beach-somali-capital-prime-minister-says-2024-08-02/. The dual-method assault used in the Lido Beach attack was one of the most lethal carried out by al-Shabaab since October 2022, when twin bombings at a Mogadishu market killed 100 and wounded 300 others.“Somalia beach attack kills 37 civilians, minister says,” Reuters, August 3, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/explosion-goes-off-beach-somali-capital-prime-minister-says-2024-08-02/. Shortly after directing the March and August dual-method attacks, Mohamud was named head of suicide bombing for Banadir region.“Al Shabaab-Appoints New Suicide Bombing Chief Linked to Deadly Lido Beach Attack,” Horn Observer, December 21, 2024 https://hornobserver.com/articles/3080/Al-Shabaab-Appoints-New-Suicide-Bombing-Chief-Linked-to-Deadly-Lido-Beach-Attack.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- Al-Shabaab
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, non-state actor, religious, terrorist, transnational, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Al-Qaeda affiliated group, Islamist, jihadist, Qutbist, Salafist, Sunni, takfiri, Wahhabi
- Position(s):
- Head of Suicide Bombing for Banadir Region
Al-Qaeda’s Somali-based branch, al-Shabaab, seeks to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state. The group has carried out a score of violent terror attacks, including the September 2013 Westgate Mall attacks in Nairobi, Kenya.