US offers $5 mn for arrest of tweeting US jihadi

A US State Department official said on Thursday that the $5 million reward offered for Omar Hammami could exploit what are believed to be fault lines between Somali groups that may be for and against Hammami.

Will the allure of a $5 million reward be the downfall of a tweeting, rapping American jihadi who once fought alongside the Somali militant group al-Shabab but now denounces their methods and motivations in online feuds?

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A US State Department official said on Thursday that the $5 million reward offered for Omar Hammami could exploit what are believed to be fault lines between Somali groups that may be for and against Hammami. The Alabama-born American was once high in the ranks of al-Shababab but has since had a falling out with the group's leader.

The US announced on Wednesday the $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Hammami and another $5 million reward for a second American fighting in Somalia, Jehad Mostafa.