Ahmad Diri

Ahmed Diriye (, ; born 1972), also known as Ahmad Umar or Abu Ubaidah al-Somali , is the Emir of Somalia’s Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.

Diriye became head of the organization following the death of al-Shabaab's leader Ahmed Godane in 2014. In 2022, the U.S. State Department designated him a terrorist.

History Ahmad Diriye was born in 1972 in Mustshil in the Hararghe province of Ethiopia. He is believed to be in his fifties and is a member of the Bijamal subclan of the Dir clan. According to Africa Confidential he is a cousin of Ahmed Abdi Godane.

Diriye was a member of Al-Ittihad al-Islamiyya since 1996 and later served as an officer in the Islamic Courts Union. He headed a Quranic school in Kismayo.

Emir of al-Shabaab (2014–present) Diriye was named al-Shabaab leader in September 2014, after Godane was killed by a U.S. airstrike. Though picked by Godane loyalists, Diriye immediately reached out to insurgent leaders who had been alienated by his leadership, such as Fuad Qalaf and released dozens of Shabaab commanders who had been previously imprisoned under Godane. Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir unsuccessfully pressured Diriye to switch the groups allegiance from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria during the latter groups rapid rise in 2014. Following his accession to emir, Diriye reiterated the al-Shabaab's allegiance to Al-Qaeda.