Suicide bomber in Somalia lived in U.S.

An online report has identified a Somali-American from Seattle, Washington, as one of the suicide bombers who killed 21 peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia, last week. The bomber allegedly lived in Washington until 2007. The report could not independently be confirmed.

An FBI spokesman in Seattle, Fred Gutt, said investigators are aware of the report, but he declined to comment about it in detail. When asked if the FBI was looking into the report, Gutt said only that "we have continuing outreach efforts with the [Somali-American] community."

Federal agents have been investigating possible recruiting efforts in the United States by al-Shabaab, a Somali group with ties to al-Qaeda that the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.

In an attack September 17, suicide bombers drove vehicles with United Nations markings into the headquarters of an African Union peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu. The vehicles blew up inside the compound, killing at least 21 people, the mission said.

Last Tuesday, a Somali website reported that at least one of the bombers was a Somali-American who left the United States two years ago. The website is operated by members of the Murusude clan, who make up the majority of Al-Shabaab.