US Puts $10M Bounty on Heads of 2 Americans

Jehad Mostafa, Omar Shafik Hammami helping al-Shabab in Somalia
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 21, 2013 8:52 AM CDT
US Puts $10M Bounty on Heads of 2 Americans
These undated images provided by the FBI shows Jehad Mostafa, left, and Omar Shafik Hammami.   (AP Photo/FBI)

There may not be any American militants on the kill list, but that doesn't mean the US isn't hunting any. The State Department is offering up to $5 million apiece for information leading to the capture of two American members of al-Shabab, it announced yesterday. The US will begin distributing posters and matchbooks bearing the faces of Jehad Mostafa of Wisconsin and Omar Shafik Hammami, the "rapping jihadist" from Alabama, along with messages in English and Somali announcing the reward, CNN reports.

Both men have been indicted by grand juries on terror charges and are named on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List. An FBI official says they've shown "a persistent interest in targeting US interests," but any specific attacks they may have been involved in are classified. Hammami, 28, publicly broke from al-Shabab last year, releasing a video decrying its leaders as corrupt and accusing them of ignoring global jihad. His family has said it fears for his life. But the FBI says his current connection to the group is "immaterial," and that he's wanted for past transgressions. "We still believe he is an individual of great significance to the activities that are going on in Somalia with al-Shabab," says an official. (More al-Shabab stories.)

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