Nairobi mall gunman said to be Norwegian-Somali

The Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Almost one month after gunmen attacked a mall in Kenya, one of them has been identified as a Norwegian-Somali, officials said yesterday.

The suspect was identified as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, the first time officials have confirmed having a real name of one of possibly four attackers from the Somali militant group al-Shabab who stormed the mall on Sept. 21.

Norwegian tax records show a Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow was born in 1990 and was registered at an address in Larvik, southern Norway, as late as 2009.

A former classmate of Dhuhulow's at Thor Heyerdahl High School -- named after the Norwegian adventurer -- said she was shocked when she found out he was a suspect in the Nairobi attack.

Community leader Mohamed Hassan said that Dhuhulow, as a boy, would listen to his elders in the mosque and be respectful.

"He was not a troublemaker here in Larvik," Hassan said.

But another man, who gave only his first name, Yussuf, for fear of reprisals, said he had met the Norwegian-Somali gunman at a gathering of Somali immigrants in Oslo, Norway's capital, in 2008.

Yussuf recalled the man's name as Abdi and said he was associated with "pretty radical" circles in Norway.

Yussuf said he had not had any contact with the man since then but added that several people he knew thought they had recognized him in video footage of the mall assailants who killed more than 60 people.