American Jihadist Believed to Be Killed in Somalia
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Note that he was killed by al-Shabab, the very militia he originally joined when he went to Somalia. When are these young Westerners going to begin understanding the nature of extremism and stop wasting their lives?
This guy is the same age as my son. I just… his mother… *sigh, smh*
NAIROBI — When Omar Shafik Hammami was 20 years old, he left his native Alabama in search of religious purpose. By 22, he was in Somalia, fighting with al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked militia known for its brutality. He took the name Abu Mansoor al-Amriki and rose to a commander, earning a spot on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists and a $5 million bounty on his head.
He became the quintessential 21st-century jihadist, rapping in YouTube videos, writing an online autobiography and tweeting his thoughts and experiences.
On Thursday, at age 29, his journey apparently ended. Amriki — “the American” — was fatally shot in a southern Somali village in an attack ordered by al-Shabab’s top leaders, according to terrorism analysts and news reports. He had fallen out with the militia in a long and bitter struggle over influence and ideology.
Reports of his death have proven false before, and neither the Somali government nor al-Shabab acknowledged the attack. But analysts said the reports appear credible this time, and the Reuters news agency and the Associated Press quoted witnesses and al-Shabab members as saying he was dead. […]