American Jihadi Killed in Somalia as Global Conflicts Draw Domestic Terrorists
An American Jihadist who rose to international fame after joining one of the most notorious terrorist groups in the world was killed by al-Shabab militants, it was reported Thursday.
Omar Hammami, a native of Daphne, Alabama has been in Somalia since 2006 and was one of the most popular foreign Islamic rebels. He was listed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list and there was a $2 million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest.
Reports indicate that Hammami, who was known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, or "the American," met his fate when a group he was travelling with was ambushed in southern Somalia two years after he had a falling out with leaders of the Somalia-based terrorist group.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Somalia has been an attractive destination for foreign fighters, and about two dozen Somali-Americans from Minneapolis have joined al-Shabab in the past several years, the Associated Press reported.
Hammami's death is thought by terrorism experts to hurt al-Shabab's image and recruitment plans, Abdirizak Bihi, an advocate for the Somali community in Minnesota and the uncle of a young man killed in Somalia in 2008, told AP.
"We always knew the Somalis inside Somalia knew that al-Shabab was bad," Bihi said. "We were concerned about the Somalis in the diaspora ... who never really knew the facts on the ground and were always manipulated and misled."
"So that's why it's a victory. They now know exactly what al-Shabab is, as much as the Somalis inside," he added.
Terrorism expert Clint Watts wrote on his blog, SelectedWisdom.com, that Hammami's plight "probably soured recruitment pipelines from the West into Somalia."
Hammami was one of the more notable Americans to join jihadi groups. Raised in Daphne, Ala. outside Mobile, he was the son of a Christian mother and a Syrian-born Muslim father.
