Official: Wanted extremist leader with $3 million bounty on his head surrenders in Somalia

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 file photo, hundreds of newly trained al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises in the Lafofe area some 18km south of Mogadishu, in Somalia. A Somali intelligence official says Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, a leader with the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab who has a $3 million bounty on his head, has surrendered to police in Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File) (The Associated Press)

In this photo taken Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, Suspected Al-Shabab militant captured during Thursday's attack on African Union base are seen in Mogadishu, Somalia. Gunmen attacked the African Union's main base in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Thursday leading to an exchange of gunfire between militants and soldiers that killed at least nine people, including three soldiers, an official with the mission in Somalia said. Three militants were captured during the Christmas day lunch hour attack on the African Union Mission to Somalia's Halane base camp, the group said in a statement. AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) (The Associated Press)

A Somali intelligence official says a leader with the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, who has a $3 million bounty on his head, surrendered in Somalia.

The intelligence officer, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said Saturday Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi surrendered to Somali police in the Gedo region.

The officer said Hersi may have surrendered because he fell out with those loyal to Ahmed Godane, al-Shabab's top leader who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this year.

Hersi was one of eight top al-Shabab officials whom the Obama administration offered a total $33 million in rewards for information leading to their capture in 2012. Despite suffering major losses such as losing major cities, al-Shabab remains a threat in Somalia and Kenya.