By IANS,
Nairobi: The US has offered a five-million-dollar reward each for any information leading to the arrest or conviction of two Americans-turned-Al-Shabaab militants, Xinhua reported.
Omar Shafik Hammami, alias Abu Mansour al-Amriki, and Jehad Serwan Mostafa, alias Ahmed Gurey or Anwar al-Amriki are American citizens believed to have become fighters for the Somali insurgent group, the US State Department said in a statement.
The statement was issued by the US embassy in Nairobi Thursday.
“The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice programme is offering rewards for information on two members of the Somalia-based terrorist organisation, Al-Shabaab,” it said.
Al-Shabaab is an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group and US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization fighting for the creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Somalia.
It is for the first time the programme has offered rewards for members of the militant group, accused of terror attacks in Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.
Hammami, a US citizen and former resident of Daphne, Alabama, moved to Somalia in 2006 and joined militants.
He has served as a propagandist for Al-Shabaab, helping to recruit English-speaking youth through his writings, rap songs, and video statements. He also has served as a military commander, leading foreign fighters under Jehad Serwan Mostafa.
Mostafa is a US citizen, a former resident of San Diego, departed for Somalia in 2005. He served as a media expert and leader of foreign fighters for Al-Shabaab.
He was indicted Oct 9, 2009 in California on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to provide material support to Al-Shabaab, and providing it material support.