Garissa varsity terrorist killed in raid

Al-Shabaab leader Mohammed Dulyadayn alias Kuno Gamadhere who was killed in an overnight targeted airstrike on his convoy in Bulagaduud, about 30km from Kismayu. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Kuno is said to have planned one of the deadliest attacks in Kenya during which 148 people — most of them university students — were killed on April 2 last year.
  • There have been intensified US operations in Kenya and Somalia in the recent past. In the last two years, several senior Al-Shabaab commanders have been killed in Somalia.

The mastermind of the Garissa University College terrorist attack that claimed 148 lives has been killed in an airstrike in Somalia by local and US forces.

Mohammed Dulyadayn, alias Kuno Gamadhere, was killed in an overnight targeted airstrike on his convoy in Bulagaduud, about 30km from Kismayu.

Three other Al-Shabaab terrorists were also killed in the attack.

The Amisom troops and officials from the Jubaland administration on Thursday confirmed that one of the four bodies was Mr Kuno’s, but added that a DNA test would be done because his relatives are well known.

The security minister in the Somali region of Jubaland, Mr Abdirashid Janan, confirmed the killing at a press conference.

And quoting the Commander of the Jubaland forces, Gen Aadan Koojar, sources said that Mr Kuno was killed together with his three bodyguards.

Mr Kuno is said to have planned one of the deadliest attacks in Kenya during which 148 people — most of them university students — were killed on April 2 last year.

The attack came just a year after the Westgate Mall raid during which another 67 people were killed.

After the El-Adde attack against the Kenyan military earlier this year, Mr Kuno survived one of the retaliatory operations but was seriously injured.

He was evacuated to Jilib and by the time of his death, he was not active and was only being guarded and taken care of by his men.

During the April 2 attack at the Garissa University College, four Al-Shabaab terrorists rounded up and killed 141 students. The terrorists were later shot dead by Kenya security forces.

Kuno worked as a Madrassa teacher in Garissa until 2007. He was in charge of operations against Kenya. He also worked for the Al-Haramain Foundation between 1993 and 1995 but the institution was closed.

At that time, he was known as Sheikh Mahamad but later became a teacher and principal at Madrassa Najah in Garissa from 1997 to 2000 after which he went underground.

However, his extremism had been evident even before he left the country.

Police reports indicate that most of the terrorist attacks in Garissa were carried out by former students of Madrassa Najah.

HEIGHTENED EFFORTS
Kuno was first brought to the attention of Kenyans by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on December 17, 2014 when a Sh20 million bounty was put on his head.

He is believed to have crossed the border into Somalia to join the Union of Islamic Courts, which at one point controlled much of the country.

When the Islamic Courts collapsed, Kuno joined the terrorist group Hizbul Islam, which in 2010 merged with Al-Shabaab.

In May last year, terrorists raided a mosque in Yumbis and lectured locals on terrorism and then left after daybreak.

A day after the mosque raid, Kenyan security forces reported that they had thwarted a planned attack by the terrorists on a village in Fafi constituency.

The terrorists, led by Kuno, had crossed into Kenya. He is believed to be the man who lectured worshippers at the Yumbis mosque for two hours.

They even hoisted their flags there before security forces arrived.

In the past two years, Kuno masterminded several attacks in northern Kenya and the Coast region, particularly Lamu, Garissa, and Mandera.

The terrorist had three wives, one of whom lives in Huda near Ras Kamboni. The other two live in Garissa, according to security agencies.

There have been intensified US operations in Kenya and Somalia in the recent past. In the last two years, several senior Al-Shabaab commanders have been killed in Somalia.

Reports indicate that prior to President Barrack Obama’s visit to Kenya last year, the pre-announcement assessment recommended increased campaigns against terrorists locally and in neighbouring Somali.

AID CUT
As a result, the US counter-terrorism officers enhanced their operations in East Africa focusing more on Somali.

The enhanced operation led to the killing of Adan Garar, an Al-Shabaab leader linked to the 2013 Westgate attack, in a drone attack in Diinsoor, southern Somalia on March 12.

A spokesman for the US Department of Defence said that Garar’s death had dealt “another significant blow” Al-Shabaab.

In April last year, the US Department of State blocked the assets of two senior Al-Shabaab officials said to have planned the Garissa University attack together with Kuno.

The move was taken to impede terrorist funding and cut off access to financial and other resources from sympathisers.

All the properties of Ahmed Diriye — the leader of the terror group in Somali — and Mahad Karate of the group’s intelligence wing, were blocked to disrupt their financial support network.

In July last year, there were reports that Kuno had been killed in a dawn airstrike in Juungal but the Interior Ministry later clarified that he had not been killed.