# Fuad Mohamed Khalaf (Fuad Shongole)

> Fuad Mohamed Khalaf (Fuad Shongole), senior al-Shabaab figure: his years in Sweden, return to Somalia in 2004, public statements, UN sanctions from 2010 and the 2012 US reward.

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Last checked: 2026-11-12
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## In short

Fuad Mohamed Khalaf is a senior figure in [al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/). This page records what sanctions lists, the US government and researchers report about him. The group's structure is set out in [Al-Shabaab: how it is organised, and who has led it](/en/institutions/al-shabaab-structure-and-leaders/).

## Sweden and return to Somalia

He took asylum in Sweden in 1992 and returned to Somalia in 2004 to fight with the [Islamic Courts Union](/en/history/islamic-courts-union-2006/) ([Critical Threats, American Enterprise Institute, profile, 2011, updated 2013](https://criticalthreats.org/analysis/profile-fuad-mohamed-qalaf-shongole)). Wikipedia describes him as a Somali-Swedish militant ([Wikipedia, Fuad Qalaf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuad_Qalaf)).

## Role in al-Shabaab

Critical Threats described him as a senior member with a seat on al-Shabaab's shura council, believed to be in charge of its operations in [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/), and recorded that he appeared with [Hassan Dahir Aweys](/en/people/hassan-dahir-aweys/) at the rally that announced the merger of al-Shabaab and [Hizbul Islam](/en/institutions/hizbul-islam/) (Critical Threats).

## Public statements

Critical Threats recorded several of his public statements:

- In May 2009, in Marka, he called on fighters to hunt down members of the news outlet *Waaga Cusub*.
- On 25 April 2010 he accused the editors of Voice of America and the BBC of treason to Islam.
- On 27 December 2010 he said: "We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country."
- In late January 2011 he urged restraint towards the transitional government and called suicide bombing unlawful.

## Sanctions and reward

The UN Security Council's Somalia sanctions committee listed him on 12 April 2010 (UN reference SOi.005), and the United Kingdom applied the listing from 28 April 2010, recording a dozen spellings of his name ([UK Sanctions List, Somalia regime, 2023](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64774cef5f7bb700127fa266/Somalia.pdf)). The Swiss version of the list states that he facilitated money for al-Shabaab, including fundraising at mosques in Kismayo in May 2008 ([SECO, Somalia sanctions list, 2024](https://www.seco.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/E1Jps6lRxg7V/Somalia_2024-05-21%20(8).pdf)). On 7 June 2012 the US State Department offered up to US$5 million under its Rewards for Justice programme for information on his location, citing his operational and fundraising role (Critical Threats).

## Sources differ

- **His name.** Written Khalaf, Kalaf, Khalif or Qalaf, with the nickname Shongole, Shangole or Shongale (UK Sanctions List).

## Read the primary sources yourself

- UK Sanctions List, Somalia regime (2023), entry SOM0006: [PDF](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64774cef5f7bb700127fa266/Somalia.pdf).
- Critical Threats, "Profile: Fuad Mohamed Qalaf (Shongole)": [page](https://criticalthreats.org/analysis/profile-fuad-mohamed-qalaf-shongole).

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