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