The United States has announced a combined $8 million reward for information leading to the capture of Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir—better known as Ikrima—one of al-Shabaab’s most senior commanders. The State Department is offering $5 million for intelligence on Ikrima’s orchestration of the July 2010 bombings at Kampala’s Kyadondo Rugby Club and Ethiopian Village restaurant, and an additional $3 million for details on his role in recruiting Kenyan youth into the militant network.
Ikrima has long been implicated in some of East Africa’s deadliest terror attacks. In 2010, twin suicide bombings in Uganda killed 76 people, including an American citizen; intelligence agencies traced the explosives back to Somalia and uncovered a sprawling logistics operation spanning Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In 2021, the U.S. formally designated Ikrima a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” freezing any assets he may hold and outlawing financial dealings with him.
Investigators further suspect him of masterminding the October 2013 Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi, which claimed at least 67 lives, and of plotting earlier assaults in Mombasa—including the failed 2002 hotel bombing and airliner attack. Kenyan authorities have also linked him to foiled strikes on the UN compound and Parliament in Nairobi, allegedly backed by a “South African network.”
Ikrima’s network spans continents. Born in Mombasa to Somali–Yemeni parents, he spent his youth in Kenya before seeking asylum in Norway in 2004. After his claim was rejected, he shuttled among London, Yemen and East Africa, forging ties with al-Qaeda affiliates—most notably AQAP—and recruiting fighters for training in Yemen. He speaks English, Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Norwegian and French, and is believed to have maintained encrypted contact with the late AQAP leader Anwar al-Awlaki.
In October 2013, U.S. Navy SEALs attempted to seize him in a raid on a coastal compound in Baraawe, Somalia. Despite encountering heavy resistance and briefly spotting Ikrima, they withdrew without capturing him. Intelligence analysts say he remains active, directing suicide-bomber training, coordinating attacks and overseeing the movement of weapons across porous borders.
The State Department stresses that this reward is part of a broader international counter-terrorism effort that has already led to the arrest and prosecution of multiple al-Shabaab operatives. Thirteen suspects were tried in Uganda for the Kampala bombings; eight received terrorism convictions.
U.S. and regional partners now urge anyone with credible information on Ikrima’s whereabouts to come forward. Tips may be submitted confidentially through the State Department’s secure messaging platform. Until his arrest and prosecution, Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir will remain one of the world’s most wanted terrorists—and the $8 million prize highlights the West’s resolve to bring him to justice.
