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WASHINGTON - The United States is offering rewards of up to $7million for information leading to the location of seven keyleaders of Somalia's al Shabaab, seeking for the first time totarget top echelons of the al-Qaida-linked militant group. U.S. officials said the rewards, to be announced on the StateDepartment's "Rewards for Justice" website on Thursday,opened a new front in the battle against al Shabaab and signaledWashington's determination to press the fight against terrorismacross Africa. "This is the first time we've had key leaders of al Shabaab aspart of the Rewards for Justice program," said Robert Hartung,an assistant director at the State Department's Bureau ofDiplomatic Security, which administers the program. "Every time we add someone to the Rewards for Justice site,that is a signal that the U.S. government is sending that it takesthe fight against terrorism very seriously," Hartung said. The U.S. government in 2008 named al Shabaab to its list of foreignterrorist organizations, imposing financial and other restrictionson the group that had seized control of large areas of south andcentral Somalia and sought to impose its strict version of Islam onthe impoverished Horn of Africa nation. The United States has also joined international efforts to bolsterSomalia in the face of its multiple crises, pledging $300 millionto support an African Union force battling al Shabaab and $250million for humanitarian relief after drought struck the regionlast year. "What we're about in Somalia is a comprehensive broad effortwith a variety of partners in the region and around the world tobring stability to Somalia," said Karl Wycoff, deputyassistant secretary of state for African affairs. PRICE ON THEIR HEADS Thursday's announcement will for the first time set specific priceson the heads of al Shabaab leaders, topped by a reward of up to $7million for information on the whereabouts of Ahmed Abdiaw-Mohamed, the group's founder and overall commander. Rewards of up to $5 million are being offered for Ibrahim HajiJama, another al Shabaab co-founder, and group financier FuadMohamed Khalaf, along with military commander Bashir MohamedMahamoud and Mukhtar Robow, who often serves as the group'sspokesman. The U.S. government will pay rewards of up to $3 million forinformation on the whereabouts of intelligence chief ZakariyaIsmail Ahmed Hersi and Abdullahi Yare, another senior figure,Hartung said. U.S. officials say the Rewards for Justice program has paid outmore than $100 million to more than 70 informants since it wasestablished in 1984 and helped to find and convict 1993 World TradeCenter bombing mastermind Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, among others. The program has not been without recent controversy. The StateDepartment in April placed a $10 million bounty on Hafiz Saeed,suspected of masterminding the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, thatkilled 166 people. Saeed's whereabouts in Pakistan were not usuallya mystery, and he responded to the U.S. move by holding a newsconference mocking it. Counterterrorism analysts said the new rewards could boost pressureon al Shabaab as it faces a three-pronged offensive by Kenyantroops in the south, Ethiopian troops in central Somalia and anAfrican Union force near the capital, Mogadishu. "Al Shabaab is starting to show some signs of fatigue andfissures that are going to hinder the group," said Rick"Ozzie" Nelson, a senior security analyst at the Centerfor Strategic and International Studies. "Putting these individuals on Rewards for Justice at thisjuncture is another thing which might encourage the demise of alShabaab. We are at a tipping point here." Other analysts said that while the Rewards for Justice program hadshown only moderate success in capturing senior leaders, it wasuseful as a signpost of U.S. priorities. "The large rewards haven't had an impact in bringing the topguys to justice, but these notices are important to help define theenemy and informing people about who we believe to be the top-levelthreats," said Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundationfor Defense of Democracies and editor of its "Long WarJournal" on counterterrorism efforts. Hartung said he was sure the large U.S. reward offers would teaseout new clues about the whereabouts of al Shabaab's top leaders. "We are confident that we will receive information pertainingto these seven," Hartung said. "What we do with thatinformation, and the quality of that information, we'll have towait and see.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Miniature Security Camera Manufacturer , IP Network CCTV Camera for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Waterproof IR Camera.
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