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

Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi surrendered to police in the Gedo region, said an anonymous Somali intelligence officer.

Hersi may have surrendered due to falling out with those loyal to Ahmed Godane, al-Shabab's top leader, who was killed in a US air strike earlier this year. In 2012, the US offered a total of $33m in rewards for information leading to the capture of Hersi and seven other senior al-Shabab men.