Aden Hashi Farah Aden Hashi Farah Ayro ( , ) ( died 1 May 2008 ) was a leader of the Hizbul Shabaab , the armed wing of the Somali Islamic Courts Union ( ICU ) . He was from the Ayr sub - clan , part of the Habar Gidir , which is a branch of the Hawiye clan . He was reportedly married to Halima Abdi Issa Yusuf . He was among several militants killed in a U . S . airstrike on May 1 , 2008 . Early life . Little is known about Aden Hashi Farah Ayro , though from his clan , it was known that he received little formal education of any kind before joining the Ifka Halane Islamic court in the mid - 1990s under the tutelage of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys . According to sources from the International Crisis Group , Aweys selected him to go to Afghanistan for further training . Afghanistan and Al - Qaeda . Aden Hashi Farah Ayro was said to have gone to Afghanistan to train with al - Qaeda before 2001 , according to Matthew Bryden of International Crisis Group . Here he was supposedly trained in explosives and other insurgent tactics , applying them in the Islamic Courts Union militias later on ; notably with the Shiirkoole ( Circolo ) court of Mogadishu . According to International Crisis Group , it was after this stint with the terror organisation that he went back to Somalia in 2003 to set up a network with other al - Itihaad al - Islamiya veterans to assassinate foreigners and opponents , culminating in the eventual deaths of four foreign aid workers and at least ten Somali former military and police officers . On June 10 , 2006 , " The Guardian " repeated this story by stating , " An unnamed network run by one of Aweys ' s proteges , Aden Hashi Farah " Ayro " , has been linked to the murder of four western aid workers and more than a dozen Somalis who allegedly cooperated with counter - terror organisations . " They also desecrated an Italian cemetery in Mogadishu to great international outrage , and helped shelter and provide assistance to Al - Qaeda operatives in Banaadir and the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia . During this period , Ayro ' s actions remained clandestine . ( see page 8 ) Islamic Courts Union . On June 15 , 2006 , Aden Hashi Farah Ayro was said to have taken a load of arms sent from Eritrea . In July , 720 Somali volunteers were selected by Aden Hashi Farah " Eyrow " to travel to Lebanon to fight against the Israelis . Of those , only 80 returned to Mogadishu . In September , another 20 returned , along with five members of Hizbollah . He was placed in charge of the Shabaab by Hassan Dahir Aweys , but an October 2006 article in " The Economist " indicated Aweys may have had some regrets regarding the appointment . The bankruptcy of a remittance company , Dalsan , International , whose staff included the brother of Aden Hashi Farah " Eyrow " , involved the suspicious disappearance of $ 10 million . It was alleged , " an ICU military leader managed to divert a large amount of money to help financially support the organization in their fight for the control of Mogadishu during the June 2006 confrontation with the former counter terrorism alliance " ( see page 39 ) . ( Also see ARPCT , Second Battle of Mogadishu ) During Ethiopia ' s invasion of Somalia to oust the Islamic Courts Union militia from power , sources claimed by SomaliNet news that Aden led an elite - commando army which caused stiff - resistance in the Baidoa region , despite ICU forces beginning to retreat from fronts elsewhere . Attempt on life . Theresa Whelan , the U . S . deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs , in a press conference on January 17 , 2007 , said she believed the U . S . AC - 130 gunship raid which occurred on January 8 had killed eight fighters linked to Aden Hashi Farah Ayro . Ayro was believed to have been wounded in the attack and perhaps killed . However , on March 7 , 2007 an audio tape issued by Aden Hashi Ayro was sent to the Koran Radio station in Mogadishu . Al - Qaeda in Somalia . According to intelligence provided to Somalia ' s Deputy Defence Minister , Salad Ali Jelle , Aden Hashi Ayro was named by Al Qaeda as its leader in the wartorn nation . It was also reported by the Associated Press that the United Nations have attributed 16 killings to him , including BBC journalist Kate Peyton . They also reported a failed attempt to bring down an Ethiopian airliner . Death . On May 1 , 2008 , Ayro and another important leader of the Hizbul Shabaab , Sheikh Muhyadin Omar , were killed when the U . S . conducted an airstrike on his house in the town of Dhuusamarreeb . Paul Salopek , writing in the " Chicago Tribune " in an article entitled " " U . S . appears to be losing its secret war in Somalia " " ' , reported that jihadists had vowed to kill every foreigner in Somalia in response .