The US has placed a $10 million (Sh1.29 billion) cash reward for information on a financial network fueling ISIS operations in East Africa, even as it warned of a possible renewed wave of attacks from extremists, generally, in the region.
On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Nairobi issued a serious security alert warning American citizens in Kenya of an increased threat of terrorism, as the country approaches anniversaries of major past attacks.
At the same time, the US Department of Justice described the Somalia branch of ISIS as one of the largest and most active affiliates of the global ISIS network in Africa, playing a significant role in funding the group’s wider operations.
T said the group generates income through various illicit activities, such as tax extortion, ransom kidnappings, money laundering, arms trafficking, and levying taxes on local populations.
The group also profits from piracy and illegal fishing, using mobile money platforms and cryptocurrencies to move funds.
“The United States urges Somalis and others with credible financial intelligence on ISIS-Somalia to come forward,” read the statement.
“Anyone providing such information may receive a substantial financial reward and resettlement opportunities.”
ISIS-Somalia was founded in 2015 by Abdulqadir Mumin, a former al-Shabaab cleric, in the Cal Miskaad mountains in north-eastern Somalia in today’s Puntland state.
Since then, the group has attracted foreign fighters and expanded its operations, posing an increasing threat to regional stability.
Since December 2024, Puntland forces have intensified their offensive against ISIS in the Cal Miskaad area, recapturing several key strongholds as well as discovering deserted hideouts where foreign fighters left their passports.
According to Puntland officials, the military campaign has received support from US forces and the United Arab Emirates.
The US said the reward programme forms part of a wider counterterrorism initiative designed to disrupt terrorist financing and dismantle transnational militant networks throughout the Horn of Africa.
Meanwhile, the US advisory in Nairobi specifically highlighted the anniversaries of past attacks, including those on September 11, 2001, in the United States and the Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi on September 21, 2013. These were perpetrated by groups allied to the al-Qaeda terror network.
The US also warned that Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which kicked off a horrific war in Gaza, could also be used by these extremist groups to target installations of the US and allies.
“Locations such as hotels, embassies, restaurants, malls and markets, schools, police stations, places of worship, and other places frequented by foreigners and tourists continue to be attractive targets,” the Embassy said.
As a precaution, the embassy advises US citizens to remain vigilant in areas frequented by tourists, review their personal security plans, monitor local media, avoid areas where protests and demonstrations are taking place, avoid crowds and keep a low profile.
Kenya has suffered a number of attacks carried out by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab, allied to al-Qaeda, since sending troops to Somalia since 2011 to battle the Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists.
In 1998, al-Qaeda operatives bombed the US embassy in Nairobi by ramming its gate with a truck.
A total of 213 people, including 12 Americans and 34 local embassy staff, died in the attack.
More recently, al-Shabaab has threatened to attack Kenya in retaliation for its deployment of troops in Somalia.
In September, Kenya will mark the 12th anniversary of the 2013 siege of the Westgate shopping centre in the capital, Nairobi, which killed 67 people.
Two years after Westgate, al-Shabaab fighters attacked Garissa University in eastern Kenya in April 2015, killing 148 people.
In 2019, Al-Shabaab gunmen killed 21 people at the upscale Dusit hotel complex in Nairobi.
In 2002, an Al-Qaeda suicide car bombing at an Israeli-owned resort hotel near the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa killed at least 13 people, including three Israelis, while an Israeli jetliner narrowly escaped a missile attack on takeoff from Mombasa airport.
Although Kenyan authorities are vigilant, they stressed that the unpredictable nature of terrorism requires heightened personal awareness in the coming weeks.
Kenya has endured repeated attacks by al-Shabaab targeting security forces, public spaces, and civilian sites.
Despite intensified counterterrorism operations, the group remains a significant threat, with intelligence reports warning of sleeper cells operating in Nairobi and other cities.
The US advisory comes as Kenyan security agencies are bolstering patrols and surveillance in shopping centres, transport hubs, and diplomatic missions in anticipation of possible threats around sensitive dates.
