U.S. terror suspect arrested in Somalia: official

A U.S. terror suspect believed to have been fighting alongside Al-Shabaab militants was arrested Monday in a southern Somali town.

Hussein Mohamed Barre, District Commissioner of Barawe town in Lower Shabelle region, told reporters Monday that the U.S. citizen had been stopped by security officers on patrol while he was trying to escape from Al-Shabaab after some of his friends were killed following an internal row.

"This foreigner told us that he is an American citizen; he speaks English language, he is black and his age is between 30 and 40," Barre said, but refused to give his name to the media.

"Upon interrogating him, he told us he was escaping from Al-Shabaab militants after the fighters killed his friends and was living in fear," he said.

He said the man who quit from the Al-Qaida allied group was believed to have joined ISIL, Syria-based Islamic State terror group, amid a major rift within the Al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab group on whether or not to join the ISIL.

The district commissioner added the foreigner was too tired and thirsty and walked on foot for a long distance. The suspect had been handed over to the African Union forces based in the coastal town. An investigation is under way.

Barawe is about 200 km south of the Somali capital Mogadishu. It used to be a strategic town for Al-Shabaab where they used to gain revenues on charcoal export. It was liberated from the Al-Qaida linked group in October 2014. Enditem