A top leader of Somalia's al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab rebels, intelligence chief Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, has surrendered to government and African Union forces and is now in custody, officials say.
The militant is the subject of a $US3 million ($A3.25 million) bounty as part of the US State Department "Rewards for Justice" program. Officials said on Saturday he surrendered in the Gedo region, where Somalia borders Kenya and Ethiopia.
"Zakariya Ahmed was a very senior person who worked with Godane," said regional military official Jama Muse, referring to former Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, killed by a US air strike in September.
"He was in charge of intelligence and finances. He was one of the senior al-Shabab commanders who the Americans put a lot of money on their head," he added.
Another Somali military official, Mohamed Osmail, said the militant was hiding in a house in the border town in the El-Wak area, and made contact with government officials in order to hand himself in.
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Another intelligence source said the surrender was believed to have been motivated by a series of recent bloody splits and purges within the group, with Godane having ruthlessly eliminated many of his rivals and his successor, Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah, continuing to maintain strict internal security.
The surrender is welcome news for Somalia's fragile, internationally-backed government as well as the African Union's AMISOM force, who have been facing an almost constant wave of attacks from the Shabab.
According to a Western intelligence source, the surrender could deliver an "intelligence bonanza" that could prove highly damaging to the al-Qaeda-linked group.
"We're looking at someone who, potentially, will bring with them an encyclopaedic knowledge of the organisation: who is in charge of what, what their modus operandi is and so on. It could fill in a lot of intelligence gaps," said the source, who asked not to be identified.
