Somalia: Al Shabaab’s al-Turki passes away at 73
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- Posted On 28-05-2015, 07:55AM
BU’AALE, Somalia, May 28, 2015(Garowe Online)-Senior Al Shabaab official with USD 3 M bounty on his head Sheikh Hassan Abdullahi Hirsi (al-Turki) has passed away at the age of 73 in small village in Middle Jubba region of southern Somalia on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
Al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage (Ali Dhere) has confirmed his death, saying Al Turki succumbed to unidentified complications in Hargeisa Yarey village.
Wanted by US for his links with former Al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden and formation of several Jihadist groups in East Africa, al-Turki kept a low profile over the last few years.
He was born in the Somali region of Ethiopia, and he later moved to Saudi Arabia for further Islamic studies.
Before bitter dissension within Al Shabaab ranks and now defunct Hisbul Islam, al-Turki served as military leader with the Islamic Courts Union in 2006.
Al though his ailing health has not been disclosed to the media, Ali Dhere has unveiled that al-Turki met Osama Bin Laden three times.
GAROWE ONLINE
