Hamammi May Be Alive

An American citizen who serves as a senior Shabaab military commander and propagandist is thought to be still alive, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal, disputing a report from last week by a Somali official claiming that Hammami had been killed.

"Our assessment is Hammami is not dead, at least we see no evidence of it," a senior US intelligence official told The Long War Journal, referring to Omar Hammami, the American from Alabama who is better known as Abu Mansour al Amriki.

Hamammi was reported to have been killed sometime during the last month in heavy fighting in Mogadishu and the surrounding areas, Somalia's defense minister told The Associated Press on March 8. But the defense minister did not present any evidence of Hammami's death. Also, Shabaab did not announce Hammami's death.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal on March 8, the date of the initial report, would not confirm Hammami's death.

The Rest @ The Long War Journal