One of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists, Omar Hammami took to twitter Thursday after he says he was shot in the neck by an Al-Shabaab assassin.
Hammami, an American jihadi in Somalia, fled overseas after becoming radicalized in the United States and Canada. He allegedly rose to the rank of command in Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia.
But when Hammami openly criticized Al-Shabbab’s ill-treatment of foreign fighters, he says Al-Shabaab kicked him out and wanted him dead. He has since been hiding in an undisclosed area of Somalia, taking to twitter as a means of communication with the Western world.
On Thursday this week Hammami tweeted “just been shot in neck by shabab assassin. not critical yet.”
After posting photos to prove the attack and responding to some of his followers, Hammami tweeted again, just after midnight on Friday saying that the leader of Islamic extremist rebels in Somalia was starting a civil war.
“They are sending forces from multiple directions. we are few but we might get back up. abu zubayr has gone mad. he’s starting a civil war,” he tweeted.
Terrorism expert and ex-FBI agent, Clint Watts took to his blog Friday saying that the attack proves Hammami should fear for his life.
“If there is going to be a war inside Shabaab, I’m guessing it will happen soon,” he wrote.
Hammami’s last tweet was just after midnight on Friday morning.
Producers for 16×9 reached out to Hammami a few months ago asking for an interview with him via skype. Hammami declined to be interviewed, but agreed to openly participate in a public discussion about terrorism and social media through a live-blog with producers, experts and viewers.
16×9 will be rebroadcasting its episode on Al-Shabaab and terrorist recruitment in North America this Saturday at 7PM.
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