The US State department has offered a Sh1.2 billion reward for information leading to the capture of the mastermind of the Dusit D2 terror attack of 2019.
The US Rewards for Justice programme says it will pay the hefty sum to find Mohamoud Abdi Aden, a Kenyan national suspected of heading the Shabaab terror cell that carried out the attack.
Speaking in Nairobi, US Ambassador to Kenya Margaret Whitman alongside Director of Criminal Investigations Amin Mohamed called for information on any other individual involved in the attack of the complex.
Kenyan tips can be shared through WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal via +254 71 8712 366 and Somalia tips via +252 68 43 43 308, they said.
"During the assault, al-Shabaab gunmen armed with explosives, automatic weapons, and grenades attacked the DusitD2 commercial center, a 6-building complex of shops, offices, and a hotel. At least 21 people, including one US citizen, were killed in the assault," the US said in a notice.
In October 2022, the US categorised Mr Aden as a specially designated global terrorist.
The 2019 attack began at 3pm when the attackers set fire to three vehicles parked outside the Dusit Hotel complex. It was followed by an explosion by a suicide bomber outside the restaurant.
Vehicles go up in flames at the scene of the terror attack at Dusit D2 Hotel, Nairobi, on January 15, 2019. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A siege followed, but security agencies responded and managed to rescue more than 700 people including more than 70 US citizens.
