Iran Tracker

This piece is part of a series of al Shabaab leadership profiles.

Ali Mohamed Rage, also known as Ali Dhere, is al Shabaab’s head spokesman and a member of the group’s Shura Council.[1] He also served as the group’s chairman of Banadir region until February 16, 2011, when Mohamed Hassan Omar Abdurahman replaced him.[2] Neither the United States nor the United Nations has designated him as a terrorist.

Rage is a member of the Murursade, a sub-clan of the Hawiye clan with a strong presence in the Banadir region.[3] He replaced Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, also known as Abu Mansur, as al Shabaab’s top spokesman in May 2009 following a dispute between Rage, Robow, and Ahmed Abdi Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair.[4]

November 16, 2011: Rage warned Kenya that it would face “hellfire” unless it withdraws its troops from southern Somalia. "We are telling Kenya that they still have the opportunity to back away from the hellfire it was dragged into and leave our soil, otherwise they will continue suffering," he said. (News24)

October 29, 2011: Rage warned civilians to avoid government buildings and AMISOM military bases, as al Shabaab would continue to attack those targets. He said al Shabaab was responsible for two suicide attacks near Mogadishu’s Warshadaha Street. (Shabelle Media Network)

October 17, 2011: At a press conference in the Elasha Biyaha neighborhood outside Mogadishu, Rage threatened attacks against Kenya if it didn’t withdraw its invading forces from Somalia. “The Kenyan public must understand that the impetuous decision by their troops to cross the border into Somalia will not be without severe repercussions. The bloody battles that will ensue as a result of this incursion will most likely disrupt the social equilibrium and imperil the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians; and with war consequently comes a significant loss of lives, instability, and destruction to the local economy and a critical lack of security,” he said. He accused Kenyan troops of attacking civilian areas, and refuted accusations that al Shabaab had kidnapped foreign aid workers in Kenya. (Shabelle Media Network)

October 5, 2011: Following a suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed 72 people, Rage claimed responsibility for the attack. He called it a warning for those who believed al Shabaab had fully withdrawn from the city. “We wish to inform the Muslim people that the campaign against infidels will be back-to-back and by God's grace will increase day by day and will increase in the coming hours. I will give a good tiding to the infidels: You will face big and broad blows,” he said. (AP)

August 31, 2011: Rage led prayers and delivered a speech at an Eid al Fitr service in Maslah Square, north of Mogadishu. (SITE)

August 16, 2011: In a communiqué posted on jihadist forums, Rage cited an al Shabaab attack on government troops in Mogadishu as evidence that the group had not completely withdrawn from the capital. Referring to photos posted alongside the statement, he said, “If the mujahedeen withdrew from Mogadishu, then who destroyed the armored vehicle, who burned the tank, and who arrested this captive?” (SITE)

August 12, 2011: Rage challenged reports that al Shabaab had pulled all its forces from Mogadishu and argued the group’s militants were still fighting in the city. He also refuted a claim by Hassan Dahir Aweys that al Shabaab had withdrawn from Mogadishu due to infighting within the group. (Shabelle Media Network, Shabelle Media Network)

August 6, 2011: Rage confirmed reports that al Shabaab fighters had abandoned their positions in Mogadishu, but he downplayed the development as a tactical shift towards guerilla warfare. (Shabelle Media Network)

July 21, 2011: Rage accused the United Nations of politicizing Somalia’s drought, refuting the organization’s declaration of famine in the country’s southern regions. He termed reports of famine “baseless propaganda,” and argued “conditions are not as bad as they say.” (Reuters)

July 6, 2011: Rage announced that al Shabaab formed a committee to deal with Somalia’s ongoing drought and lifted its ban on foreign aid agencies. "Whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims, [if] their intention is only to assist those suffering, they can contact the committee which will give them access to the drought-hit areas," he said. (BBC)

June 17, 2011: Rage pledged al Shabaab’s allegiance to the new leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri. "We are welcoming the naming of Dr. Al-Zawahiri. We are going to work with him like we used to work with Sheikh Osama. We will be fulfilling the promise and the agreements with the former leader which means supporting the new leader,” he said. (Hiraan Online)

March 7, 2011: Rage threatened attacks on Kenya for preventing al Shabaab fighters from fleeing across the border following a defeat against government troops in Beled Hewo. "Previous warnings to Kenya are nothing compared to this one. We are going to retaliate against it harshly," he said. He also called Somalis to action against Ethiopia, which he accused of supporting TFG troops in the battle. “They (Ethiopia military) will no longer stay at Somalia and will not raise their flag inside our soil,” he said. (Daily Nation, Shabelle Media Network)

February 27, 2011: Rage told reporters in Mogadishu that al Shabaab will retaliate against Kenya for its support of an allied offensive against the militant group. “Kenya has constantly disturbed us, and now it should face the consequences of allowing Ethiopian troops to attack us from Mandera town,” he said. (Shabelle Media Network)

February 24, 2011: Rage appeared with Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys at the public exhibition of a captured Burundian soldier and the dead bodies of other Burundian soldiers in Mogadishu. (SITE)

February 21, 2011: Rage claimed responsibility for a car bombing at a police training station in Mogadishu that killed at least eight people and wounded 35 others. He argued the attack was aimed at soldiers “who were being prepared to attack us.” (AP)