Jehad Serwan Mostafa is also known as “Ahmed Gurey,” “Ahmed,” “Anwar,” “Abu Anwar al Muhajir,” and “Abu Abdallah al Muhajir,” according to the Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice has unsealed an updated indictment against Jehad Serwan Mostafa, an American who belongs to Shabaab and has served the al-Qaeda branch in a variety of capacities.
“We believe this defendant is the highest-ranking U.S. citizen fighting overseas with a terrorist organization,” U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said. If true, then Mostafa is the most senior American to serve in groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Mostafa, who was born in Wisconsin and resided in San Diego, California, was first charged in 2009, and that indictment was unsealed in 2010. Nine years later, the U.S. government thinks he is still playing a prominent role within Shabaab.
After graduating from college in San Diego in 2005, Mostafa left for Sana’a, Yemen and “then on to Somalia where he engaged in fighting against internationally supported Ethiopian forces,” according to the DOJ. He joined Shabaab and worked his way up his ranks.
Earlier this year — a decade after Mostafa first became a senior Shabaab figure — the FBI learned that he had a leadership position within Shabaab’s “explosives department.” The FBI says Mostafa has been implicated in attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The U.S. government first offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on his whereabouts in 2013. The U.S. has now reiterated that reward offer.
The FBI has highlighted some identifying information for Mostafa, including images of a scar on his right hand, in the hopes that someone will provide a tip regarding his precise location.
Read more: Long War Journal
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