Three years ago, Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti soldier who deserted to fight in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban, sat in a detention cell at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while lawyers argued whether he was an "enemy combatant."

Last week, a Dubai-based television channel reported that al-Ajmi was killed carrying out a homicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq.

While the report did not specify which attack Abdullah carried out, Iraqi officials reported that Mosul was hit on April 26 by three homicide attacks, killing seven people.

CBS News reported that al-Ajmi carried out an attack on Wednesday, April 30, according to an unconfirmed report posted on a jihadist Web site.

Al-Ajmi's cousin, Salem, reportedly told Al-Arabiya television that , "We were shocked by the painful news we received ... from one of the friends of martyr Abdullah in Iraq."

Salem al-Ajmi reportedly said a friend told his cousin's family that the 30-year-old former detainee had fled Kuwait about two weeks ago.

Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, who was repatriated to Kuwait in November, 2005, was free on bail there awaiting trial on charges he helped to raise money for Al Qaeda.

U.S. counterterrorism analysts argued in a review of al-Ajmi's activities that he should not be released or returned to Kuwait based on the following:

— That he deserted from the Kuwaiti army to participate in a jihad in Afghanistan;

— The Taliban supplied him with arms, including grenades;

— He admitted fighting with the Taliban, including engaging in two or three firefights;

— He was captured by coalition forces in the Tora Bora region, an area once thought to be a hideout of Usama bin Laden;

— That upon his arrival at Guantanamo he demonstrated "aggressive" behavior; and,

— Based on a review of classified and unclassified documents, al-Ajmi was declared a threat to the United States and its allies.

Al-Ajmi denied all charges that he was an enemy combatant and a jihadist, and that documented statements were untrue.

He was repatriated to Kuwaiti authorities on Nov. 3, 2005.

Salem al-Ajmi said his cousin had a son after his return to Kuwait.

Reuters reported that Salem al-Ajmi said there were no indications his cousin planned to join Al Qaeda in Iraq, although he had become less sociable in the period leading up to his disappearance.

The International Herald Tribune and wire services contributed to this report.