LiveLeak.com - Ally of world's most wanted woman the White Widow is shot dead in Somalia raid: Briton killed by rival Islamic militants
Ally of world's most wanted woman the White Widow is shot dead in Somalia raid: Briton killed by rival Islamic militants
Ally of world's most wanted woman the White Widow is shot dead in Somalia raid: Briton killed by rival Islamic militants
- British bomb-maker Habib Ghani was ambushed in a raid by a rival group
- He had been on the run with 7/7 bomber's wife, Samantha Lewthwaite
- al-Shabab gunmen lay in wait posing as camel herders outside village
- The group had been hunting rival members following a split
A British bomb-maker on the run withthe widow of a London 7/7 bomber is believed to have been killed in agun battle in Somalia.HabibGhani, 28, was ambushed along with one of America’s most wantedterrorists in a dawn raid after falling out with commanders frommilitant group al-Shabab.Thefanatic – who also called himself Osama al-Britani – was a key ally ofMuslim convert Samantha Lewthwaite, 29, who was married to King’s Crossbomber Jermaine Lindsay.
Killed: Habib Ghani(left) is believed to have been shot dead in Somalia. He has been on therun with Samantha Lewthwaite (right) since 2011
The so-called ‘WhiteWidow’, who is the world’s most wanted woman, has been on the run inEast Africa after police foiled a Christmas bomb plot against Westerntourists in the coastal resort of Mombasa in 2011.Policebelieve the soldier’s daughter from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, hadbeen working with Ghani for several years, although she was not thoughtto have been present when gunmen struck early yesterday.Ghani, from Hounslow, west London, andOmar Hammami, also called al-Amriki (The American), are thought to havebeen shot by gunmen from al-Shabab, who overpowered their bodyguards in avillage where they had been in hiding since fleeing the terror group inJune.
'Dead': Militants in Somalia have claimed thatAmerican jihadist Omar Hammami has been killed. In April, he tweetedthis pictured, right, following what he called an assassination attemptas he was in a tea shop
Killed: Hammami, right, joined al-Shabab in 2006. He is pictured withdeputy leader of al-Shabab. Sheik Mukhtar Abu Mansur Robow, left, in2011 but he went on the run after falling out with the group
Popular: Hammami was voted president of his Sophomore class and dated one of the most popular girls in school
Convert: Soldier's daughter Samantha Lewthwaite pictured at school
Residents in al-Baate village in southern Somalia said their bodies were dragged away by rebels.‘This morning al-Amriki and his comrades were attacked by well-armed fighters,’ said Hussein Nur.After a brief fight, al-Amriki and his two colleagues were killed. Several of their guards escaped.’The al-Shabab gunmen struck at 5.30am, just after morning prayers, capturing the jihadists unawares.Sources said the gunmen had lain in wait for several days, posing as camel herders.
Ghani and Hammami were allies of Somali Islamist Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys,who split from al-Shabab in June, causing a rift in the group’s ranks.Since the split, al-Shabab has been hunting down and killing allies of Aweys.
Al-Amriki was on the FBI’s MostWanted terror list and a $5million (£3.1million) bounty was offered forinformation leading to his capture.Ghaniwas born in the UK to a Pakistani father and a Kenyan mother. Accordingto police sources, he left his home in Hounslow several years ago andgained bomb-making experience in Pakistan.Last night details emerged about Ghani’s secret life in Somalia where he was also known locally as Sheikh Towfiq.
Target: One of Americas most wanted terrorists, Omar Hammami (left), waskilled alongside Ghani. Lewthwaite and Ghani had been on the run since2011 when police swooped on another extremist, Jermaine Grant (right)
The bearded Briton was living withhis Somalian wife Habibo and two children, a boy aged three and a babygirl just a few months old, in the remote town of Hawalbarbar which hasno electricity.He owned a small kiosk, where he charged phone batteries with his solar-powered adapter for a fee.
Ghaniand Lewthwaite were said to have fled Kenya in December 2011 as policeswooped on a third and unconnected British extremist, Jermaine Grant,who was living on the other side of Mombasa.Policefeared she and Ghani were planning to unleash a terror attack as thetourist season got under way but she managed to slip the net.Lewthwaite is believed to be a vital conduit between Al Qaeda groups in Pakistan and East Africa.
White Widow: Samantha Lewthwaite converted to Islam and married 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay (pictured)
Slaughter: Shehzad Tanweeer, Jermaine Lindsay and Mohammad Sidique Khanwith their rucksacks at Luton railway station while carrying out a dryrun days before the blasts killed 52
The mother of four converted to Islam at the age of 17 and married Lindsay in 2002 after meeting him on the internet.
Shewas seven months pregnant when Lindsay, a Jamaican convert fromHuddersfield, killed 26 people when he blew himself up on a PiccadillyLine train in July 2005.Sinceher disappearance, Lewthwaite has been linked to a spate of grenadeattacks in Mombasa, including one which killed three people.Ghani’sfamily, who live in a modest £270,000 terraced house in a quietsuburban street, refused to speak to reporters last night.AForeign Office spokesman said: ‘We are aware of reports of the death ofa British national in Somalia and are looking into this.’
WHITE WIDOW CONVERT FROM BUCKINGHAMSHIRE REMAINS AT LARGESamantha Lewthwaite, 29, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, has been on the run for nearly two years.
Lewthwaite is suspected of fundingterrorist groups in Kenya and was questioned by police in December 2011,but she managed to slip away and has been on the run ever since.Themother-of-three was pregnant with Jermaine Lindsay's baby when he blewhimself up on a tube at Kings Cross, killing 26 people.Fiftytwo people were killed and more than 700 were injured when four suicidebombers struck in London during the morning of July 7, 2005.Mohammad Sidique Khan killed seven people including himself on a train heading towards Paddington from Edgware Road.
Shehzad Tanweer detonated a bomb aboard a train between Liverpool Street station and Aldgate tube station, killing seven.
And Hasib Hussain detonated his bomb on the top deck of a bus in Tavistock Square killing 13 people.