Al Qaeda-Linked American Terrorist Unveiled, as Charges Await Him in U.S.

A week after the 9/11 attacks, a young Muslim at South Alabama University told the school's newspaper it was "difficult to believe a Muslim could have done this." Now, eight years later, he is professing to launch attacks himself and calling on others to join the fight, as terror-related charges await him at home in Alabama.

Abu Mansour al-Amriki — or "The American" — has become one of the most recognizable and outspoken voices of terrorist propaganda. He was born Omar Hammami in May 1984, and he grew up outside Mobile, Ala., in the city of Daphne.

He has been in war-torn Somalia for several years, fighting the secular government there with a group known as al-Shabaab, which has ties to Al Qaeda and was labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government last year. Only recently has he taken on a starring — and jarring — role in al-Shabaab's outreach efforts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been looking into him for several years. In fact, a grand jury in Mobile, Ala., has already indicted him on charges of providing material support to terrorists, a source said. It's unclear when the indictment was filed.

• "Al Shabaab", Council on Foreign Relations, 2/27/09.
• "Al-Shabab", New York Times, Topics Page.