Two of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s siblings, who have reportedly been kept at a distance from her public life, have been pictured with a man accused of orchestrating a massacre in Somalia. Mohamed Nur Said Elmi and Leila Nur Said Elmi, who reside in London, have ties to war criminal Mohamed Said Hersi, known as “Morgan,” who is accused of leading a state-sponsored massacre against the Isaaq clan in 1988.
Sources told The Post that Mohamed and Leila are Omar's siblings. They are alleged to have maintained a low profile to distance themselves from Omar and their rumored brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to whom Omar was married in 2009. Ahmed Elmi, who has since described himself as a “gay man” in an academic paper, reportedly lived with Leila while growing up.
Ilhan Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia in 1995, has seen her family's history come under scrutiny. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, also known as Nur Said Elmi, was a military commander in the Somali dictatorship. The family spent time in a Kenyan refugee camp before settling in the U.S.
Mohamed Nur Said Elmi is active in Puntland politics and has reportedly traveled to the region from London. He and Leila have been pictured with General Morgan, who led a campaign that involved aerial bombardments, poisoned wells, and the deaths of up to 200,000 civilians, described by scholars as genocide. A photo obtained by The Post shows Mohamed and Leila with the warlord in January 2024. Mohamed later paid tribute to Morgan on social media, stating their families shared a friendship and that Morgan was close with their father.
Leila's British marriage certificate from 1997 lists her father as Nur Said Elmi, a military officer from Somalia. Sources claim this is Omar's father, and that all siblings share the same mother, Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein, who Omar states died when she was very young.
Family friends have indicated that the siblings' connections were not a significant secret within their community. Leila reportedly cared for Ahmed in London before he moved to Minnesota, allegedly due to a lifestyle that was not approved of by their religion, according to one source.
Omar, Sahra, Leila, Mohamed, and Ahmed Elmi did not respond to requests for comment. The evidence has fueled speculation that Omar’s 2009 marriage was a sham aimed at securing legal immigration status for Ahmed Elmi.