Burhan Hassan was an infant when he left his homeland of Somalia. He grew up American, a bright student with dreams of becoming a doctor or lawyer. But now his family is trying to find out why the 17-year-old was killed under mysterious circumstances in Somalia. Hassan was one of about a dozen young Somali men who have gone missing from the Minneapolis area over the last couple years – recruited, their families say, by radical elements in Somalia. Relatives said they learned Friday that he had been killed and buried in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, but they had few details. His death follows a suicide bombing carried out in that warring Horn of Africa country last October by another young Somali man from Minneapolis. “We believe he was killed because he would have been a key person in the investigation into the recruitment (of young Somali men) here in Minneapolis,” said Hassan's uncle, Abdirizak Bihi. Hassan's mother declined to comment. But Bihi, her brother, said she's “devastated, the whole family's devastated.” FBI Special Agent E.K. Wilson said he could not confirm whether Hassan had been killed. A State Department spokeswoman, Joanne Moore, had no firm information either. The FBI has acknowledged an ongoing investigation into the disappearances, but won't elaborate. Several local Somalis say they've been questioned by the FBI, Customs officials, or subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury over the last several months. Hassan was a student at Roosevelt High School and was taking college courses such as calculus and advanced chemistry through the University of Minnesota, with dreams of attending Harvard University to study medicine or law. “He never knew anything about Somalia. He grew up here. He was an American kid,” Bihi said. He said his nephew did not even speak the Somali language. But in November, Hassan disappeared at the age of 17. His mother reported him missing to police. Relatives said they feared he was recruited by Al-Shabab, an extremist group considered by the US State Department to be a terrorist organization with links to Al-Qaeda. Al
