Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged

Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged
The Associated Press • November 24, 2009

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MINNEAPOLIS — Federal prosecutors unsealed new terrorism-related charges against eight people Monday as part of the long-running investigation of young men who left the United States to fight in Somalia.

As many as 20 young Somali men have left Minnesota in the past two years and are believed to have joined the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab. At least three have died.
The charges announced Monday include accusations that the men provided financial support to those who traveled to the East Africa country to fight on behalf of al-Shabab and also fought on behalf of the group, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
Court records indicate that between September 2007 and October 2009, about 20 young men left Minnesota for Somalia, where they are accused of training with al-Shabab to fight against Ethiopian forces. Prosecutors claim that while in Somalia, the young men were trained to use military weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, and tactics.
A total of 14 people — including the eight announced Monday — have been charged in the investigation. Four have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Seven are not in custody and are believed to be outside the United States.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said the case is worrisome because it shows young men raised in the United States can be recruited by terrorists overseas, trained to conduct attacks and in some cases killed in the fighting there.
“The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia,” U.S. Attorney for Minnesota B. Todd Jones said in a statement.
One of the eight named Monday was Mohamud Said Omar, who was arrested earlier this month in the Netherlands. In the charges unsealed Monday, prosecutors accuse Omar, a Somali citizen and U.S. permanent resident, of helping young men travel from Minneapolis to Somalia and providing hundreds of dollars to fund the purchase of AK-47 rifles for the men.
Two of Omar’s brothers who live in Minnesota have said they believe their sibling is innocent, was not an extremist and was so poor that he couldn’t afford to bring his new wife from Somalia to the U.S.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of 7 million.