| Ali Mohamed Rage | |
| Birth Date: | 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Mogadishu, Somalia |
| Nickname: | Ali Dheere |
| Allegiance: |
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| Rank: | Official Spokesperson of Al Shabaab |
| Battles: | Somali Civil War |
| Office: | Official Spokesperson of Al-Shabaab |
| Termstart: | 21 May 2009 |
| Preceded: | Mukhtar Robow |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Native Name: | |
Ali Mohamed Rage, commonly known as Ali Dheere, is the head spokesman for the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, and a member of the group’s supreme council.
Accounts of Ali Mohamed Rage's origins differ. According to Garowe Online he was born in Hawaldag district of Mogadishu during 1966.[1] BBC Somali reported that he was born near the town of El Buur in Galguduud.[2] He is a member of the Murusade sub clan of the Hawiye.[3]
Rage was one of the early youth members of Al-Ittihaad Al-Islaamiya (AIAI), and participated in the groups wars against the United Somali Congress in 1991 and the Somali Salvation Democratic Front during 1992. He also participated in the 1996–1997 AIAI/Ethiopia war in the Gedo region. Following the dissolution of AIAI in 1997, Rage moved to Mogadishu and became a teacher at Al-Harameyn school. During the rise of the Islamic Courts in Banaadir region, he worked as a trader at a pharmacy in the Bakaara Market and spent his time off assisting Islamic Courts activities.
During the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, Al-Shabaab’s top spokesman had been Mukhtar Robow. Following a dispute between Robow and the Emir of Al-Shabaab Ahmed Godane during 2009, Rage was made the groups spokes person. He was allegedly chosen by Godane to prevent defections and assure the loyalty Shabaab's Murusade clan fighters.[3] He also serves as the head of the groups 'Office of Education'. In an interview with journalists, he would justify Al-Shabaab's targeting of hotels as legitimate military targets.[4] During the 2011 East Africa drought, he would claim in an interview with Channel 4 News that there was no famine in the Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions.[5] Soon after the start of the Kenya's 2011 Operation Linda Nchi, Rage would publicly warn “We shall come into Kenya if you do not go back.”[6]
In March 2014, the Kenyan Defence Forces claimed to kill Rage.[7] In August 2019, the Somali National Army (SNA) claimed to inflict critical injuries on him during a raid using Somali special forces.[8] October 2022, the SNA also incorrectly claimed that they had killed Rage.[9]
In 2021 the United States marked Rage as a 'Specifically Designated Global Terrorist' and in 2023 put a five million dollar reward for any information leading to his arrest.