Bilal al-Sudani

Bilal al-Sudani
Born	Sudan
Died	(2023-01-25)25 January 2023 Somalia
Cause of death	Assassination

Bilal al-Sudani, also known as Suhayl Salim Abd el-Rahman (died 25 January 2023) was a member of the al-Shabaab insurgency and later a member of Islamic State in Somalia.

Al-Sudani was designated a terrorist by the U.S. in 2012 for his work in helping to finance foreigners traveling to al-Shabaab training camps. Al-Sudani later began to help finance ISIS in Africa and other countries including Afghanistan. In 2022, the U.S. accused al-Sudani of working with a South African, Abdella Hussein Abadigga, to recruit young men in South Africa for ISIS and send them to weapons training camps. ^[1] He was likely in charge of the IS office in Somalia, which was influential in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique. ^[2]

Al-Sudani was killed by SEAL Team Six operators in a raid on a cave system in northern Somalia on January 25, 2023. ^[3] The raid was intended to lead to his capture. ^[4] Ten members of Al-Sudani's group were also killed in the operation with no civilian or U.S. casualties. ^[5]

References

1. Madhani, Aamer; Long, Colleen (25 January 2023). "US military kills senior Islamic State official in Somalia". AP News. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
2. Carter, Brian; Tyson, Kathryn; Karr, Liam; Mills, Peter (1 February 2023). "Salafi-Jihadi Movement Weekly Update, February 1, 2023". Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute . Retrieved 2025-02-02.
3. "US Military Kills Senior Islamic State Official in Somalia". VOA News . Associated Press. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
4. Martinez, Luis (26 January 2023). "Top Islamic State leader killed in U.S. raid in Somalia, officials say". ABC News. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
5. Haley Britzky; Sam Fossum (January 26, 2023). "US military operation kills senior ISIS leader in Somalia". CNN. Retrieved 2025-02-02.