Relative confirms death of fourth young man from Minnesota in Somalia

Jamal Bana Government displays the body of foreign

A relative confirmed the death in Somalia of a young man from the Twin Cities, one of several suspected of joining the war.

For the second time in two days, a Somali man from Minneapolis has been reported killed in his war-torn homeland, a relative confirmed Sunday.Zakaria Maruf, 30, who is believed to have been among the first wave of young Somali men to leave Minnesota for Somalia over the past two years, was killed Saturday in Mogadishu, the relative said.Maruf is the fourth Somali man from the Twin Cities to have died in Somalia since October.The relative said she did not know how Maruf was killed, adding that she learned of his death in a phone conversation with his wife.
On Saturday, the family of Jamal Bana, 20, of Minneapolis, learned that he had been killed in Somalia after seeing a photograph of his body on a Somali news website. Bana had been shot in the head.FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson said Sunday that he cannot confirm the deaths and could not comment further "due to the ongoing investigation."For more than a year, federal authorities have been investigating a possible connection between terrorist groups and the disappearances of as many as 20 young Somalis from the Twin Cities over the past two years.,more..http://www.startribune.com/local/50588512.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU