Somalis in U.S. draw FBI attention

The FBI is expanding contacts with Somali immigrant communities in the U.S., especially in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, fearing that terrorists are recruiting young men for suicide missions in their homeland.

FBI Special Agent E.K. Wilson, spokesman for the Twin Cities FBI field office, described the effort as community outreach. Many members of the Somali community are concerned over disappearances, he said.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2267421/posts

Abubakar Assadique is the mosque Hassan attended. Yesterday, there were prayers there for Hassan, but there are also allegations from Hassan’s family: they say the mosque was responsible for the 17-year-old’s decision to go to Somalia. They also say that his death may be connected to his decision to return to Minnesota.

The mosque denies any involvement in any of the young men’s decision to go to Somalia.

The FBI is investigating how the young men were recruited.

Hassan’s family says that investigation and Hassan’s desire to return to Minnesota may have played a role in his death.

The mosque says Sunday’s prayer service was for the community and the family. The Hassan family says they have no connection to the mosque.

Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2270318/posts

Somalis take to the street to protest group’s actions (MN)
StarTribune ^ | 6/11/09 | ALLIE SHAH and JAMES WALSH
Posted on June 12, 2009 6:24:28 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

Relatives, friends and neighbors of a Minneapolis teen killed in Somalia pressed their argument Thursday that a Muslim civil rights group is hampering a federal investigation into the disappearances of dozens of Twin Cities Somali men.

At a protest outside the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, Abdirizak Bihi, the uncle of Burhan Hassan, who relatives say was killed last week in Mogadishu by a terrorist group, accused the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota chapter of discouraging local Somalis from cooperating with the FBI.

“We don’t want anyone to come into our community and tell us to shut up,” Bihi said. “Law enforcement will not be able to do anything without information from the community.”

About 50 people attended the rally, waving signs and hollering, “CAIR out! Doublespeak out!”

During a months-long investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 Somali men, CAIR Minnesota launched a campaign to encourage anyone asked to speak to the FBI to be aware that they can have a lawyer present.

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...

jarretbrachman.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/EA-STRATEGY.pdf

http://jarretbrachman.net/?p=702

“Good Catch, Exclusive Analysis!”
June 21st, 2009

SNIPPET: “The crack sleuths over at Exclusive Analysis’s Global Jihad Forcasting team caught a document coming out of Iraq’s AQ shop that everyone else, as far as I can tell, either overlooked or dismissed. Their analysis is spot-on and I encourage everyone to check it out.

The full doc (posted w/ permission) is here…. EA-STRATEGY

And here’s an excerpt containing document background and key judgements:

Exclusive Analysis’s Global Jihad Forecasting team, which monitors leadership communiqués and jihadist forums, has reviewed a highly significant document dated 21 March 2009, which not only urges Somalis to conduct attacks in the West and in other African countries, but also presents the first known detailed critique of what went wrong for al-Qaeda in Iraq by a purported member of that organisation.”

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283721/posts

Man Hit with Rocks After Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade (attacked by Somali youths)
KSTP News ^ | 01 July 09 | Nicole Muehlhausen
Posted on July 1, 2009 5:34:12 PM PDT by Drew68

A St. Louis Park man says he was taunted and pelted with rocks after he left the Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade, and the attack was caught on camera.

The video has already received 1,800 views after it was posted Monday on YouTube. The clip shows boys and teenagers trailing 37-year-old Adam Schreifels and taunting him after learning he’s gay.

“We hate fags, disgusting. Just very inappropriate things to be saying,” Schreifels said.

He says while he was shocked by the comments, he wasn’t scared.

“Some of them threw rocks. At first, I got defensive. Then I thought okay, they are teenagers. I can take them,” Schreifels explained.

But Gay Pride organizers say he shouldn’t have to.

“I was upset. I was very disturbed why what I was seeing,” said Chair of Twin Cities Pride David Hill.

The video also shows security officers not reacting to the harassment. Organizers say the men worked security at a nearby building, but weren’t providing security for the parade—which was controlled by 30 off-duty Minneapolis Police officers.

“They would have stopped it immediately. It would not be tolerated by Minneapolis Police officers,” said Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

But Schreifels says a Minneapolis officer directing traffic failed to step in.

“There has been some speculation that Minneapolis Police officers were in that video. The Minneapolis Police Department wants to assure the public that those security officers who casually walk by during this incident were not from our department. We have a strict uniform policy and those were not our uniforms or our police officers. This is unacceptable behavior that would not be tolerated by the Minneapolis Police. Action would have been taken immediately to stop the harassment that is depicted in the video. We want all people, no matter of color, race, creed or sexual orientation to feel safe and welcome while they are in the city of Minneapolis,” the department said in a released statement.

While event organizers say this was an isolated incident, it’s a very upsetting one.

“It brings to the forefront why we hold the event every year, equality is still not there,” Hill explained.

The teens who harassed Schreifels were Somali, according the Somali Justice Advocacy Center. Leaders say it’s unacceptable to harass someone because of their sexual orientation.

QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2284690/posts

Somali-Americans Accused of Al Qaeda Ties Indicted on Terror Charges, Sources Say
FOX NEWS.com ^ | July 2, 2009 | By Mike Levine
Posted on July 3, 2009 1:16:09 AM PDT by Cindy

SNIPPET: “A federal grand jury has indicted a group of Somali-Americans on terror-related charges after more than 20 young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, according to two law enforcement sources.

The indictments have yet to be unsealed, but an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. One law enforcement source told FOX News the grand jury already has handed up indictments against at least three people.

Among those charged is a man from Minneapolis who went to war-torn Somalia and then, about four months ago, relocated to Seattle, according to the two sources and a leader in the Minneapolis Somali community. The man was then arrested in a Seattle airport and transferred to a jail in Minneapolis, where he is currently being detained, according to the law enforcement sources.”

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

Note: Video included.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfW9inRkTpU

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/026832.php

July 3, 2009

Muslim youths shout abuse, throw rocks at gay man in...Minneapolis

“If they want sharia, let them have it.” — Dinesh D’Souza, The Enemy At Home, p. 280

“America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.” — Barack Obama, Cairo, June 4, 2009

Rock throwing. So very Sharia-oriented. In Minneapolis. “Harassment Caught on Tape,” by Amita Parashar in The Advocate, June 30 (thanks to Womanist Musings):

Approximately 15 youths physically and verbally taunted a gay man as he was leaving Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis on Saturday, in an incident captured on video.
The Somali youths asked the man if he was gay, and when he responded yes, the young people yelled “I hate gay people” and reportedly threw rocks at the man, whose name is not known.

On the video various youths can be heard saying “I hate gay people” repeatedly, along with “Gay is not the way” and “F*** gay people. They can go f*** each other.”...

Posted by Robert at July 3, 2009 2:49 PM

Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this post.

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2291803/posts?page=12#12

To: Islaminaction; Cindy
Read the indictment here: http://static.cbslocal.com/station/wcco/news/local/crime/09_0713_terrorindictment_missingsomalimen.pdf

12 posted on July 13, 2009 4:42:49 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (FR....Monthly Donors Wanted. I Upped My Monthly....Now, Up Yours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies | Report Abuse]

###
###

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/50654962.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUs

“2 men — 1 from Brooklyn Park — indicted for aiding Somali terrorist group

Two men of Somali descent had indictments unsealed in federal court today, alleging they supported terrorists.”

By JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: July 13, 2009 - 6:50 PM

SNPPET: “According to the indictment, federal investigators allege the men “provided material support and resources, namely personnel, including themselves, knowing and intending that the material support and resources were to be used in preparation for and in carry out” a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons in a foreign country.”

According to the sparsely worded indictment, Ahmed boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 56 from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a final destination of Somalia.

The indictment contained no more details of their alleged conspiracy.

During his initial appearance, Ahmed told the judge that he worked as a part-time security guard, making $800 a month, and lives with his mother in Brooklyn Park. He was arrested on his way to work Saturday and appeared in court wearing his black security guard uniform.

He told the judge he owns no property, no car and pays rent to his mother. The judge ruled that he qualified for a federal public defender.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302884.html

“Minn. grand jury indicts 2 in missing Somalis case”

By AMY FORLITI
The Associated Press
Monday, July 13, 2009; 10:45 PM
MINNEAPOLIS — Two men are accused of supporting terrorism in a grand jury indictment unsealed Monday, the first charges in an investigation into the disappearances of several young Somali men who activists believe were recruited from the Minneapolis area by radical elements in Somalia.

At least one of the men, Salah Osman Ahmed, traveled to Somalia to fight with Islamic militants, according to the indictment returned Feb. 19 but not unsealed until Monday. Ahmed and Abdifatah Yusuf Isse both are charged with providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim and injure. Ahmed also is charged with lying to investigators.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534048,00.html

“Minnesota Neighborhoods Struggle With Rise of Somali Gangs”
Monday, July 20, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS —

SNIPPET: “”It was all gang activity, totally, 100 percent,” said Shukri Adan, a former Somali community organizer who estimated in a 2007 report for the city that between 400 and 500 young Somalis were active in gangs. “The police don’t want to say that but everybody else knows that.””

SNIPPET: “Gangs like the Somali Hot Boyz, the Somali Mafia and Madhibaan with Attitude have grown more active in recent years, said Jeanine Brudenell, the Minneapolis Police Department’s Somali liaison officer.”

Thanks to butthreeleftsdo for the ping to this post:

QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2302440/posts

Plea Hearing for Minn. Somali on Terror Charge
KSTP.com ^ | 7/27/09 | AP
Posted on July 27, 2009 6:48:07 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

Attorneys for a Minnesota man accused of going to Somalia to fight with Islamic militants are expected to submit a plea agreement ahead of a Tuesday hearing in the case, according to court documents filed Monday.

A federal grand jury indicted Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, on charges of providing material support to terrorists, lying to the FBI, and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim and injure. The indictment was handed up in February but kept under seal until this month, when Ahmed was arrested.

The documents filed Monday call for attorneys to submit a plea agreement ahead of a Tuesday afternoon hearing in U.S. District Court. A message seeking comment from Ahmed’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

(Excerpt) Read more at kstp.com ...

Thanks to But Three Lefts do for the ping to this thread.

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2303083/posts
Second suspect pleads guilty to aiding Somali terrorists (MN)
StarTribune ^ | 7/28/09 | James Walsh
Posted on July 28, 2009 3:28:23 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court today to providing material support to terrorists, according to his attorney.

Ahmed, a part-time security guard from Brooklyn Park, is accused of traveling to Somalia in December 2007, allegedly to train with al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group that federal officials say has links to al-Qaida.

Ahmed’s attorney, James Ostgard, said late Monday night that his client will plead guilty to a single count — providing material support to terrorists — before U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum. In exchange for the guilty plea, Ostgard said three other counts will be dismissed at Ahmed’s sentencing: Conspiracy to Kill, Kidnap, Main and Injure and two counts of giving false information to law enforcement.

Ahmed was one of two men indicted by a grand jury in February for training with al-Shabaab. Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, of Seattle, Wash., also has admitted to federal investigators that he trained with the terrorist group. Isse has already pleaded guilty.

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...

http://www.investigativeproject.org/1341/the-creeping-homegrown-threat

“The Creeping Homegrown Threat”

SNIPPET: “The arrest of seven North Carolinians on conspiracy charges shows, says Steve Emerson, how the U.S. is becoming like Europe, where homegrown terror plots get stopped—or not—seemingly every week.”

by Steven Emerson
The Daily Beast
August 2, 2009

SNIPPET: “This week’s arrest of seven North Carolina residents, including Daniel Boyd and his two sons, on charges of supporting terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder abroad, showed how the problem of homegrown Islamic terrorism is far more rampant than the media or the public is aware of. Just look at the major cases in the past year alone:

The convert from Long Island who joined al Qaeda (disclosed this past week) and gave the group information about Long Island trains and New York City’s subways.
The plot to blow up two synagogues and a National Guard plane in upstate New York by prison converts (scheduled to go to trial).
The plot to kill hundreds of soldiers at Fort Dix by assimilated American Muslims living here 25 years (all convicted).
The plot to operate a terrorist training camp in Oregon (pleaded guilty).
The plot to blow up buildings by the Liberty City 7 (all convicted).
The sweeping conviction of Hamas officials for conspiring to support terrorism overseas.
The cases of young Somali teenagers raised in the U.S. going overseas to become suicide bombers.
The Boyd case in North Carolina proves that radical Islamic ideology transcends economic class problems as has been claimed by pointy-headed sociologists. The Boyd family was white, had a middle-class existence, and had the economic opportunities afforded all Americans—just like most of the terrorists cited above—and yet chose to engage in jihad to the point that Daniel Boyd was willing to send his two kids on suicide missions to Israel.

That the FBI stopped all these plots is amazing, but they will never continue to bat a thousand. One of these days, the jihadists will succeed.

In the end, the mainstream media refuses to recognize that the “mainstream” Islamic groups are actually radical organizations that teach and imbue their followers with a hatred of the United States and Israel. These groups front as civil-rights groups, but in fact are radical Islamic groups whose constant message disseminated to the millions of Muslim followers is that the U.S. is an evil country engaged in a war against Islam. Once that message takes hold—and after all, these groups control the mosques, the Islamic newspapers, the Islamic schools, and the Islamic leadership from which American Muslims and converts get their ideas about the world—it is not a huge leap for some of them to become committed to violent jihad.

We are talking about a situation that is far more rampant than government leaders want to admit because the Islamic groups routinely throw the term “racist” at anyone who claims there is radicalism in the Muslim community. Two years ago, a poll was taken of American Muslims: 29 percent of young Muslims approved of suicide bombings. And those 29 percent are the ones that admitted their views. How many more would not tell the pollsters what they really thought?”

Thanks to ButThreeLeftsDo for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2310774/posts

FBI Investigating Mpls. Travel Agency Owner (Somali)
KSTP.com ^ | 8/6/09 | Mark Albert and Nicole Muehlhausen
Posted on August 7, 2009 12:25:12 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

A south Minneapolis business owner, accused of swindling travelers out of airline tickets, could now be part of an FBI investigation into missing Somali men, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned.

Minneapolis Police arrested Ali Mohamud, 35, Thursday after he came back to Minnesota from out of state. He was charged in Hennepin County District Court with six counts of felony theft by swindle, accused of taking approximately $40,000 from at least a dozen travelers but either failing to book the airline tickets to the Middle East or Africa, or canceling the itineraries after they had been purchased and keeping the refund. In all, investigators believe the total amount of money could top $200,000.

“We believe he may have been involved in additional crimes,” Minneapolis Police Lt. Brad Sporny told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

Police began an investigation into Mohamud’s business, Amana Travel Agency, at 1841 Nicollet Ave. S. on July 10.

On July 16, Mohamud told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS over the phone that the allegations were all just a ‘misunderstanding.’

As he was being led into the Hennepin County Jail, Mohamud kept silent when asked if he had any comments.

On Wednesday afternoon, FBI agents raided Amana Travel, armed with a now-sealed federal search warrant, FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson confirmed.

The FBI would not comment about the focus of its investigation.

Omar Jamal, with the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, says the investigation involves 20 missing Somali men who are believed to have left the Twin Cities to fight in a civil war back in Somali.

Jamal says he spoke with Mohamud Thursday night. He says Mohamud confirms two of the now-missing men came to the Amana Travel Agency several months ago and handed Mohamud their passports to obtain visas for travel to Somali. But Mohamud did not ultimately book the trip, according to Jamal.

“When Mr. Ali’s attention was brought to him that they were leaving without the parental consent, he turned the passports over back to them and then they left,” Jamal told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “He did play no role whatsoever in helping anyone do anything illegal or leave the country.”

http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/1043.pdf

http://www.investigativeproject.org/1379/guilty-plea-reveals-extent-of-minnesota-mans

“Guilty Plea Reveals Extent of Minnesota Man’s Involvement with Somali Terror Group”
IPT News
August 13, 2009

SNIPPET: “The IPT has obtained a copy of a plea agreement unsealed Wednesday in which a Minnesota man admits he lied to federal investigators about the extent of his involvement in the Al Qaeda-linked Somali terrorist organization al-Shabaab.

The plea comes in the midst of a federal investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 Minnesota Somali men. Federal investigators now say the men traveled abroad after being convinced to join al-Shabaab.

In the plea agreement, defendant Kamal Said Hassan admits he lied to FBI agents when he claimed “he left al-Shabaab and traveled to Yemen without taking any further acts on behalf of al-Shabaab” after finishing training at an al-Shabaab camp. In reality, Hassan “continued to work with members of al-Shabaab and follow the orders of al-Shabab in Somalia.”

During his plea hearing Wednesday, Hassan told Judge James Rosenbaum that that he went on to participate in combat with al-Shabaab. Hassan also told the court that he did not provide the identities of some of his contacts in both Minnesota and Somalia to the federal agents.”

Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2332632/posts

5th Twin Cities Somali man is killed in war-torn homeland
StarTribune ^ | 9/4/09 | Richard Meryhew
Posted on September 4, 2009 8:09:02 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

A fifth Somali man from Minneapolis apparently has been killed in his war-ravaged homeland, a relative said Friday.

Mohamoud Hassan, a 23-year-old former engineering student at the University of Minnesota, reportedly died in the past day or two.

“It’s real bad news,” Hassan’s uncle said Friday night. “But that is what happened.”

The uncle, who did not want to be identified, said he didn’t know when Hassan was killed, but added that “it’s very recent. Today or last night.”

The circumstances of Hassan’s death were not immediately known.

Abdirizak Bihi, a community activist who visited with Hassan’s grandmother on Friday, said she learned of her grandson’s fate after receiving a phone call from a relative of another young Somali-American who left his home in the Twin Cities last summer to return to Somalia to fight.

That man had told his relatives in a phone conversation shortly after noon Friday that he was standing in a cemetery in Mogadishu and had buried Hassan.

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.