British ex-jihadist Osama al-Britani killed after bust-up with ruthless Somali terror group

Al-Britani and his American friend Omar Hammami – known as al-Amriki – were tracked down to a village outside the capital Mogadishu

Terror: Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebel group

Reuters

A British former jihadist was killed in a dawn shoot-out in Somalia today following a bust-up in the ruthless al-Shabaab terror group.
Osama al-Britani died with an American associate wanted by the FBI.
They were allies of a leader who split from the al-Qaeda-linked organisation in June.
The two fled but terror bosses immediately ordered a manhunt for the pair, who had been joined by several bodyguards.
Al-Britani and his American friend Omar Hammami – known as al-Amriki – were tracked down to a village outside the capital Mogadishu.
Local resident Hussein Nur said: “This morning al-Amriki and his comrades were attacked by well armed fighters.
"Al-Amriki and his two colleagues were killed after a brief fight.”

Killed: Omar Hammami aka al-Amriki

Reuters

Several men guarding them escaped.
A shopkeeper in al-Baate village said he had heard al-Shabaab fighters confirm the deaths, though he had not seen the bodies.
He added: “No-one is allowed near the scene.”
The village was today under control of the terrorists.
The killings expose widening rifts in al-Shabaab’s top ranks as the group battles an African Union-led military offensive to drive them out.
Al-Britani and al-Amriki were linked to former al-Shabab chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who split from the group in June.

Fallout: Pair were allies of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys

Getty

The al-Shabaab leadership has been hunting down allies of Aweys, who is in the custody of Somalia’s United Nations-backed government.

He is seen as less hardline than al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.
The Foreign Office is investigating the death of Al-Britani, who was of Pakistani origin.
A statement said: “We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Somalia and are looking into this.”
There have been previous reports of al-Britani’s death including a recent one that he had been killed in Afghanistan.

Training camp: Al-Shabaab militants

Getty

Al-Amriki had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List since November when a £3.1 million bounty was offered for information leading to his capture.
He has recorded jihadist raps which he posted on YouTube.

Al-Amriki is thought to have arrived in Somalia aged 22 in late 2006, shortly before a US-backed Ethiopian military incursion into Somalia had dislodged the government.
Fluent in Somali, Al-Amriki swiftly became an influential leader of al-Shabaab’s foreign jihadists who had joined the fight to topple a government which they considered a Western puppet.

Who are Al-Shabaab?

Al-Shabaab is the Somalia branch of al-Qaeda and is believed to have a guerilla army of almost 15,000 fighters.
Until three years ago, the highly trained, well-armed group had control of southern Somalia, imposing Sharia law there.
Under its ruthless rule, women suspected of adultery were executed and thieves had their hands chopped off as punishment.
The faction has intimidated, kidnapped and killed aid workers, leading humanitarian aid operations to flee the country.
But al-Shabaab – Arabic for “the youth” – has lost much of its previously held ­territory.
It left Mogadishu two years ago and soldiers from a coalition of African countries have claimed huge victories over the group in recent years.
Al-Shabaab joined al-Qaeda in 2012 and is sworn to battle the enemies of Islam, which covers most of the Western world.