American, British militants killed in Somalia, witnesses say

Two American and British militants who fell out of favor with Al Shabaab are said to have died in an early morning attack near Mogadishu, witnesses say.

Another one of their allies, Egyptian Khadap al-Masari, is said to have surrendered.

American Omar Hammami, known as al-Amriki, and Osama al-Britani, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, had been in hiding since leaving the Islamic militant group linked to Al Qaeda earlier this year, the BBC reported. 

Hamami — better known as Al-Amriki or "the American" — was one of the most prominent foreigners fighting in Somalia but had a falling out with top Al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.

The US State Department had offered a $5 million bounty for Hamami's capture and has a $7 million bounty on Godane's head, according to AFP.

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Amriki, 29, began working for Al Shabaab after moving to Somalia in 2006, recruiting young trainees through his English-language rap songs and videos.

News of the killings comes a day after a group of 160 leading Islamic scholars issued a fatwa denouncing Al Shabab, saying the group had no place in Islam.

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