
Ahmed Abdi Godane (10 July 1977-1 September 2014), also known as Moktar Ali Zubeyr, was the Emir of Al-Shabaab from 2009 to 2014, succeeding Mukhtar Robow and preceding Ahmad Umar.
Biography[]
Moktar Ali Zubeyr was born in Hargeisa, Somalia on 10 July 1977 to the Isaaq clan of the north. He was also known as Ahmad Abdi Godane or Ahmad Godane, and became a major emir of Al-Shabaab, a militant group that sought to establish sharia law over all of Somalia. In 2009 he succeeded Sheikh Mukhtar Robow as Emir of Al-Shabaab, and he was responsible for the murder of a British couple who ran a school in Somalia.
In 2014, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles were fired at two vehicles headed to the Al-Shabaab capital of Baraawe, and Zubeyr and six other Al-Shabaab militants were killed in the strike. Zubeyr's death was confirmed at a NATO conference in Wales in the same meeting discussing Russia sending 10,000 troops to attack Ukraine.