[2][3] He has reportedly been central in the planning of several terror attacks, and responsible for forging links between Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

[4] He lived in Norway as an asylum seeker from 2004 to 2008 in the town of Moelv, where he received Norwegian travel documents.

[8] He is reported to speak several languages, including English, Somali, Swahili, French, Norwegian and some Arabic.

[2] It has been speculated that he may have been involved in the planning of the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack, notably as one of the perpetrators, Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow was a Norwegian citizen of Somali origin.

[2][4] Ikrima was the target of the unsuccessful October 2013 raid on Barawe by US Navy SEALs in the town of Barawa in Somalia.