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The Minneapolis family of Burhan Hassan learned that he died in Somalia --another in a group of Somali youth who vanished last fall.
By ALLIE SHAH, Star Tribune
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Another one of the Somali youths who vanished from the Twin Cities last fall has apparently met his death in his homeland.
Burhan Hassan, a studious teenager from Minneapolis, died in Mogadishu and was buried there, an uncle said Saturday evening.
"We received a call from those people in Mogadishu. They confirmed the unfortunate news that our son was killed," said Abdirizak Bihi, whose sister is Hassan's mother.
FBI officials could not confirm the news Saturday night.
Bihi said his sister received a call Friday morning informing her that Hassan had been killed and that he did not die in combat.
"Somehow he was killed," he said. "They did not give us details. But they said there was no fighting from the enemy. Somehow they found him dead, the man said, and he was buried."
Groups of young Somalis went missing from the Twin Cities last year and were feared recruited by radical elements in Somalia.
Federal authorities have been investigating the possible connection between terrorist groups and the disappearances of up to 20 young Somali men in the Twin Cities since last fall, when Shirwa Ahmed, a 26-year-old college student from Minneapolis, apparently blew himself up in Somalia in a coordinated attack that killed up to 30 people.
In recent days, fighting has intensified in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Hassan had a health problem, Bihi said, and was confined to a house during the recent fighting.
"There has been a bad war going on in Mogadishu these last few days," he said, adding that the family had last spoken to Hassan a week ago. Bihi said the family had been working with a group to try to bring Hassan to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, this month. Bihi said the family suspects that Hassan was killed by members of Al-Shabaab, which U.S. authorities have identified as a terrorist group.
Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in Minneapolis, said his group is looking into the death of the 17-year-old and asking federal officials for help in getting his body returned for burial. He said the teen was killed in artillery fire.
Bihi said his sister received many visitors offering condolences on Saturday. He added that family members were planning to hold a strategy session Sunday because they're frustrated by the lack of progress with the investigation.
"We don't want to sit down and wait for answers. We want to take action."
Burhan Hassan, 17, was an infant when his family fled Somalia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report Allie Shah • 612-673-4488