Al-Shabaab fighters loyal to Godane reportedly kill al-Amriki

American-born jihadist Omar Hammami, also known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, was reportedly killed by al-Shabaab soldiers loyal to top al-Shabaab commander Ahmed Abdi Godane Tuesday afternoon (May 7th) near the village of Rama Addey in southern Somalia, UN-funded Radio Bar-Kulan reported.

Photo Al Amriki's last update on Twitter was on May 3rd, nearly a week after he posted a number of pictures and updates alleging that al-Shabaab fighters loyal to Godane had tried to assassinate him

According to the unconfirmed report, senior al-Shabaab leader Fuad Mohamed Qalaf, known as Fuad Shangole, made the announcement Tuesday evening in a sermon he delivered after evening prayers at a mosque in Hiran region's Bulo Burde. He said al-Amriki was ambushed and a fire-fight ensued that left several al-Shabaab militants dead.

In his sermon, Shangole called the men who gunned down al-Amriki as having acted contrary to the principles of Islam, a point previously stated by a number other top al-Shabaab leaders -- including co-founder Ibrahim al-Afghani, leader of foreign fighters al-Zubayr al-Muhajir and Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali (or Abu Mansur) -- in a fatwa April 30th that forbade the killing of al-Amriki.

Al-Amriki was placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) list of most wanted terrorists last November and in March the United States announced a $5 million bounty on his head.

Al-Amriki was believed to be in hiding in Somalia and he regularly communicated with his followers and international terrorism analysts via Twitter in recent months. His last update on Twitter was on May 3rd, nearly a week after he posted a number of pictures and updates alleging that al-Shabaab fighters loyal to Godane had tried to assassinate him.

In the week since the failed assassination attempt, al-Amriki appears to have been in a precarious situation, posting updates that gave little doubt of the danger he believed he faced.

"May not find another chance to tweet but just remember what we said and what we stood for. God kept me alive to deliver the mssg 2 the umah," he wrote on April 29th.

For more than a year, al-Amriki has posted videos, documents and updates on Twitter and YouTube detailing how al-Shabaab's leadership -- specifically Godane, who is also known as Abu Zubayr -- has been the reason for the organisation's downfall, and how Godane's leadership is contrary to the true principles of jihad.

Even in his last tweets, al-Amriki continued his attacks against Godane. "Abu zubayr has gone mad. he's starting a civil war," al-Amriki wrote April 26th.

Al-Amriki's death could not be independently verified, and this is not the first time such news has circulated. In April 2012, Somali media reports said al-Shabaab executed al-Amriki, which was later found to be erroneous.