The United States offered a financial reward of seven million dollars on Wednesday for any information leading to the whereabouts of "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" leader Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Anabi. The U.S. State Department stated in a release that the wanted Algerian, also known as Yazeed Mubarak, became the leader of the organization in November 2020, succeeding his countryman Abdul Malik Droukdal, who was killed in June 2020 by French forces in northern Mali.
"We encourage anyone with information about Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Anabi to send a text message to +Rewards for Justice+ via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp... All communications and information will remain completely confidential," the statement added.
The department noted in its statement that al-Anabi was "the leader of the Council of Elders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, served on the organization's Shura Council, and held the position of chief media official for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb."
The statement clarified that al-Anabi has been listed since September 2015 on the U.S. global terrorists list and has been on the United Nations sanctions list since February 2016. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has gained the loyalty of several active jihadist groups in the Sahel region, which have been operating under the banner of the "Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims" since 2017.
