Chattanooga Gunman's Uncle Held In Jordan

An uncle of the man who shot dead five US servicemen in Tennessee has been in custody in Jordan since the day of the attack, says his lawyer.

Abdel Qader al Khatib says he has been barred from seeing his client - Asaad Ibrahim Abdulazeez Haj Ali - a maternal uncle of Chattanooga gunman Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez.

A Jordanian government official told the AP news agency that some of Abdulazeez's relatives in Jordan were being questioned, but declined to elaborate.

Abdulazeez's travel to the Middle East has been a focal point of the investigation into the 16 July shootings, US authorities said.

The 24-year-old, a Kuwait-born naturalised US citizen spent several months in Jordan last year to help him overcome drugs and alcohol problems, a person close to the family told AP.

Abdulazeez's family has said he had suffered from depression for years.

Two of his friends told Reuters that Abdulazeez returned from Jordan angry about Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza and America's reluctance to intervene.

Authorities are investigating the shootings as an act of terrorism, and are looking into whether Abdulazeez was influenced by radical Islam.

A US official familiar with the probe told AP that investigators found writings from Abdulazeez that referenced US-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a US drone strike in September 2011.

Abdulazeez also sent a text message with an Islamic verse referencing "war " to a friend hours before the attack, the New York Times reported.

However, investigators said they have not found specific evidence linking the engineering graduate to any extremist groups.

Abdulazeez was armed with three weapons, including two long guns and a handgun, when he opened fire on the two military facilities.

Four US Marines were killed in the attacks. A wounded US sailor succumbed to his injuries days later.

Abdulazeez was killed during an exchange of gunfire with Chattanooga police officers.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday ordered the US flag atop the White House to be lowered to half-staff in honour of the servicemen killed.

The order came after mounting criticism and in the wake of similar moves at the US Capitol and elsewhere across the country.