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]
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“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.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534048,00.html
“Minnesota Neighborhoods Struggle With Rise of Somali Gangs”
Monday, July 20, 2009
AP
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.”
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.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,546510,00.html
“Al Qaeda-Linked American Terrorist Unveiled, as Charges Await Him in U.S.”
Friday, September 04, 2009
By Mike Levine
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 ...
Thanks do But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334451/posts
Somalis in Twin Cities fear arrest in terror probes
StarTribune ^ | 9/8/09 | Richard Meryhew and James Walsh
Posted on September 8, 2009 4:21:29 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Tension is growing within the Minneapolis Somali community as it awaits the next indictments in the federal probe of the disappearances of young men who became fighters in their homeland’s ongoing warfare.
So far, three Somali men have pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges. Now several others — who either know the men or were considering returning to their homeland to fight for a terrorist group — are waiting to learn whether they, too, have been targeted by federal investigators.
Stephen L. Smith, a Minneapolis attorney who has counseled up to 20 local Somalis questioned by federal agents over the past 10 months, said recently that a number of people have contacted him and expressed “a heightened sense of concern” that they may be in legal jeopardy.
E.K. Wilson, special agent for the FBI in Minneapolis, has declined to comment on the case, but it is believed that new indictments may soon be announced. Wilson has said that the investigation is far from finished.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Threat Matrix - Blog on THE LONG WAR JOURNAL.org
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/2009/09/another_american_killed_fighti.php
“Another American killed fighting for Shabaab”
By BILL ROGGIOSeptember 6, 2009 11:45 PM
SNIPPET: “Contemporary reports put the number of Americans recruited to fight with Shabaab in Somalia in the dozens, but my sources say more than 50 Americans have been recruited and trained. A handful are thought to have returned to the US.”
quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2337915/posts
Sixth Minn. man reportedly dies in Somalia
MINNESOTA.PUBLIC RADIO.org ^ | September 11, 2009 | by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio
Posted on September 12, 2009 2:04:28 AM PDT by Cindy
Note: Photo included. http://images.publicradio.org/content/2009/09/11/20090911_troykastigar_39.JPG
#
SNIPPET: “St. Paul, Minn. — A sixth Minnesota man is feared dead in Somalia after joining an Islamic extremist group there. But Troy Kastigar stood out from his fellow recruits, because the Minneapolis man was not Somali.
Kastigar, 28, was a Muslim convert who apparently had no personal ties to the lawless east African country.
Troy Kastigar’s family received reports of his death within the past week, according to friends of the family. The circumstances of his reported death aren’t clear, and the information could not be confirmed by the FBI.”
(Excerpt) Read more at minnesota.publicradio.org ...
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1953/69426888.gif
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7107/61143248.gif
revolution.ansar1.net/?p=1481
Shabab al-Mujahideen:: “Here I am at Your Service O’ Usama” September 20, 2009
Posted by admin in : Jihad, Shabaab al-Mujahideen, Somalia, True Shuyookh, Videos , trackback
blog:
http://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2009/09/report-seattle-man-was-mogadishu.html
“Report: jehadist from Seattle Was Mogadishu Suicide-Bomber”
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http://www.kirotv.com/news/21087986/detail.html
“Report: Seattle Man Was Mogadishu Suicide-Bomber”
Posted: 12:21 pm PDT September 23, 2009
Updated: 3:16 pm PDT September 23, 2009
SNIPPET: “SEATTLE — A Web site says a Somali-American from Seattle was one of the suicide bombers who killed 21 peacekeepers in Somalia last week, CNN reported.
CNN quotes an online Somali-language Web site as saying the bomber lived in Seattle until 2007.
The report could not be independently confirmed.”
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blog:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/198941.php
September 23, 2009
“BREAKING: Somali-American from Seattle carried out suicide attack on African peacekeepers
From Rahm at Terror Free Somalia (original report here):”
SNIPPET: “SEATTLE — A Web site says a Somali-American from Seattle was one of the suicide bombers who killed 21 peacekeepers in Somalia last week, CNN reported.
CNN quotes an online Somali-language Web site as saying the bomber lived in Seattle until 2007.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
An FBI spokesman in Seattle, Fred Gutt, told CNN that investigators are aware of the report, but he declined to comment about it in detail. When asked if the FBI was looking into the report, Gutt would only say “we have continuing outreach efforts with the (Somali-American) community.”
Federal agents have been investigating possible recruiting efforts in the United States by Al-Shabaab, a Somali group with ties to al Qaeda that the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.”
about flippin’ time.
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/2353018/posts
Mpls. Man Pleads Not Guilty to Swindling Travelers (Somali Travel Agent)
KSTP.com ^ | 10/1/09 | Mark Albert & Becky Nahm
Posted on October 1, 2009 6:37:17 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
A south Minneapolis travel agency owner who is accused of swindling travelers out of airline tickets, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Hennepin County Court.
Ali Mohamud, 35, is charged with six felony counts of theft by swindle.
Mohamud owns Amana Travel Agency, located at 1841 Nicollet Ave. S.
Mohamud is accused of taking approximately $40,000 from at least a dozen travelers by either failing to purchase their airline tickets or canceling them and keeping the cash.
The FBI is also looking into Mohamud. In August, agents searched his business as part of an investigation into Somali men missing from the Twin Cities.
Mohamud has not been arrested or charged in the federal investigation.
Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361713/posts
and this article:
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/64132882.html
Update: October 13, 2009 - 5:41 PM
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A 26-year-old man has been charged with making false statements to federal officials investigating the disappearance of as many as 20 Somali men from Minnesota.
SNIPPET: “Abdow M. Abdow, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent...”
SNIPPET: “According to a criminal complaint, Abdow lied to FBI agents about a drive he made to Nevada with other people who then left the country.”
SNIPPET: “Federal Magistrate Judge Janie S. Mayeron ruled Abdow would be eventually be released to a halfway house under certain conditions.”
Maybe the plan is to import terrorists, so the government can employ agents to root them out. In other words, immigration of undesirables is intentional, as a job creation device.
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/images/stories/Al-Shabaabs_Recruiting_Efforts_in_the_West.pdf
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2378972/posts
“CTR Vantage: Al Shabaab’s Recruiting Efforts in the West”
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org ^ | November 4, 2009 09:16 PM | By Madeleine Gruen
Posted on November 5, 2009 1:09:20 AM PST by Cindy
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/mn/major/major0458.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 19, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MN
Minneapolis man indicted for providing support
to Somali terrorists
A federal indictment against Omer Abdi Mohamed, age 24, was unsealed today, following
the Minneapolis man’s arrest and initial appearance in court. The indictment, returned by a
federal grand jury on Tuesday of this week, charges Mohamed, also known as “Brother Omer”
and “Galeyr,” with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and related charges.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that from September of 2007 to the present, Mohamed
conspired with others known and unknown to the grand jury to provide material support and
resources, namely, financial support and personnel, knowing and intending that they were to be
used in preparation for and in carrying out a violation of 18 U.S.C. 956(a)(1), which is
conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign country. Furthermore, Mohamed
allegedly provided that support during that time period. The indictment also details overt acts in
furtherance of the conspiracy. Those acts include the travel of numerous men from Minneapolis
to Somalia. The men included, among others, Kamal Said Hassan, Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, and
Salah Osman Ahmed.
If convicted, Omer Abdi Mohamed faces a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison
on count one, 15 years in prison on count two, and life in prison on count three. All sentences are
determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney W.
Anders Folk and U.S. Department of Justice, CounterTerrorism Section Attorney William Narus.
–30–
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been
committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven
guilty at trial.
November 23, 2009
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/mp112309.htm
Terror Charges Unsealed in Minnesota Against Eight Defendants, Justice Department Announces
The Justice Department announced that terrorism charges have been unsealed today in the District of Minnesota against eight defendants. According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.
Thus far, 14 defendants have been charged in the District of Minnesota in indictments or criminal complaints that have been unsealed and brought in connection with an ongoing investigation into the recruitment of persons from U.S. communities to train with or fight on behalf of extremist groups in Somalia. Four of these defendants have previously pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
The charges were announced today by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; B Todd Jones, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minneapolis; and Ralph S. Boelter, Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The recruitment of young people from Minneapolis and other U.S. communities to fight for extremists in Somalia has been the focus of intense investigation for many months,” Assistant Attorney General Kris said. “While the charges unsealed today underscore our progress to date, this investigation is ongoing. Those who sign up to fight or recruit for al-Shabaab’s terror network should be aware that they may will end up as defendants in the United States or casualties of the Somali conflict.”
Background
According to court documents, between September 2007 and October 2009, approximately 20 young men, all but one of Somali descent, left the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area and traveled to Somalia, where they trained with al-Shabaab, a designated terrorist organization. Many of them ultimately fought with al-Shabaab against Ethiopian forces, African Union troops, and the internationally-supported Transitional Federal Government (“TFG”).
Court documents also state that the first group of six men traveled to Somalia in December 2007. Prior to their departure, the six men, as well as others in the Minneapolis area, raised money for the trips and held meetings in which they made phone calls to alleged co-conspirators in Somalia.
Upon arriving in Somalia, the men from Minneapolis allegedly stayed at safe-houses in Somalia and attended an al-Shabaab training camp. The al-Shabaab training camp included dozens of other young ethnic Somalis from Somalia, elsewhere in Africa, Europe, and the United States. Purportedly, the trainees were trained by, among others, Somali, Arab, and Western instructors as to small arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and military-style tactics. Allegedly, the trainees also were indoctrinated with anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Isreali, and anti-Western beliefs. Two men from Minneapolis who completed the training camp later participated in an ambush of Ethiopian troops.
According to court documents, on October 29, 2008, Shirwa Ahmed, one of the men who left Minnesota in December 2007 and attended the al-Shabaab training camp, took part in one of five simultaneous suicide attacks on targets in northern Somalia. The attacks appeared to have been coordinated. Shirwa Mohamud Ahmed, also known as “Shirwa,” drove an explosive-laden Toyota truck into an office of the Puntland Intelligence Service in Bossasso, Puntland. Other targets included a second Puntland Intelligence Service Office in Bossasso, the Presidential Palace, the United Nations Development Program office, and the Ethiopian Trade Mission in Hargeisa. Including the suicide bombers, approximately twenty people were killed in the attacks.
Today in Minnesota, United States Attorney B. Todd Jones said of these cases, “The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia. These young men have been recruited to fight in a foreign war by individuals and groups using violence against government troops and civilians. Those tempted to fight on behalf of or provide support to any designated terrorist group should know they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Joining U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones was Ralph S. Boelter, Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who added, “It is through the sustained and dedicated efforts of the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force and the support of the Somali-American community that today we are able to disclose some of the siginificant progress we have achieved in this critical investigation. At the same time, I emphasize the sole focus of our efforts in this matter has been the criminal conduct of a small number of mainly Somali-American individuals and not the broader Somali-American community itself, which as consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity in support of al-Shabaab.”
Charging Documents Unsealed
The Justice Department announced that three charging documents were unsealed this morning in the District of Minnesota:
United States v. Mahamud Said Omar, 09-CR-242
On August 20, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging Mahamud Said Omar with terrorism offenses. According to the indictment, from September 2007 through the present, Omar, who is a Somali citizen but was granted permanent U.S. resident status in 1994, conspired with others to provide financial assistance as well as personnel to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations. On November 8, 2009, law enforcement authorities in the Netherlands arrested Omar pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant. The United States has filed its request for extradition. According to documents unsealed this morning, including affidavits in support of the United States’ request for extradition of Omar from the Netherlands, Omar provided money to young men to travel from Minneapolis to Somalia to train with and fight for al-Shabaab. Omar also allegedly visited an al-Shabaab safe-house and provided hundreds of dollars to fund the purchase of AK-47 rifles for men from Minneapolis.
Omar currently is in custody in the Netherlands.
United States v. Ahmed Ali Omar, Khalid Abshir, Zakaria Maruf, Mohamed Hassan and Mustafa Salat , 09-CR-50
On August 20, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging Ahmed Ali Omar, Khalid Abshir, Zakaria Maruf, Mohamed Hassan, and Mustafa Salat with terrorism-related offenses. These men were charged in the summer of 2009 with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, and injure people outside the United States; possessing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. The indictments that detail the charges filed against these co-conspirators also were unsealed today.
None of the five defendants is in custody. All five are believed to be outside of the United States.
United States v. Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax United States v. Abdiweli Yassin Isse
On October 9, 2009, a criminal complaint was filed, charging Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax and Abdiweli Yassin Isse with conspiring to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons outside the United States. The affidavit filed in support of the complaint states that in the fall of 2007, Faarax and others met at a Minneapolis mosque to telephone co-conspirators in Somalia to discuss the need for Minnesota-based co-conspirators to go to Somalia to fight the Ethiopians. The affidavit also alleges that later that fall, Faarax attended a meeting with co-conspirators at a Minneapolis residence, where he encouraged others to travel to Somalia to fight and told them how he had experienced true brotherhood while fighting a “jihad” in Somalia. Subsequently, Faarax was interviewed three times by authorities and each time denied fighting or knowing anyone who had fought in Somalia.
The criminal complaint states that Abdiweli Yassin Isse also encouraged others to travel to Somalia to fight the Ethiopians. He purportedly described at a gathering of co-conspirators his own plans to fight “jihad” against Ethiopians, and he raised money to buy airplane tickets for others to make the trip to Somalia for the same purpose. In raising that money, he allegedly misled community members into thinking they were contributing money to send young men to Saudi Arabia to study the Koran. The complaint that details the charges filed against these co-conspirators also was unsealed today.
Faarax and Isse are not in custody. Both men are believed to be outside of the United States.
Guilty Pleas
The Justice Department also announced that four residents of Minneapolis have entered guilty pleas in connection with this investigation, one resident of Minneapolis awaits trial on charges that he made false statements to the FBI, and one resident of Minneapolis was just recently indicted on related charges.
United States v. Kamal Hassan, 09-CR-38
On February 19, 2009, Kamal Said Hassan pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, and one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, respectively. On August 12, 2009, Hassan pled guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI.
Hassan currently is in custody awaiting sentencing.
United States v. Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 09-CR-50 United States v. Salah Osman Ahmed, 09-CR-50
On April 24, 2009, Abdifatah Yusuf Isse entered a guilty plea to one count of providing material support to terrorists, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A. On July 28, 2009, Salah Osman Ahmed entered a guilty plea to one count of providing material support to terrorists, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A.
Isse and Ahmed currently are in custody awaiting sentencing.
United States v. Adarus Abdulle Ali
On November 2, 2009, Adarus Abdulle Ali pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of perjury for making false statements to a federal grand jury in December of 2008, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623.
Ali has been released pending a sentencing hearing.
Additional Pending Cases
United States v. Abdow Munye Abdow
On October 13, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Abdow Munye Abdow with making false statements to the FBI, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). The indictment alleges that on October 8, 2009, Abdow lied to FBI agents when he was questioned after being stopped during a road trip from Minneapolis to Las Vegas. Abdow purportedly told the agents only one other person was traveling with him when, according to officials, four people were accompanying him. In addition, Adbow allegedly told the agents he did not know how the rental car in which he was riding had been financed when, according to officials, he had used his own debit card to pay for the car.
Abdow has been released pending trial.
United States v. Omer Abdi Mohamed
On November 19, 2009, Omer Abdi Mohamed was arrested on charges that he conspired to provide material support to terrorists; that he provided material support to terrorists; and that he conspired to kill, kidnap, main, and injure persons outside the United States.
Mohamed was released on bond pending further proceedings.
Participants
The investigation into the recruitment of young men to join al-Shabaab and those supporting that recruiting effort has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance and cooperation of the Dutch KLPD; the Dutch Ministry of Justice; Judith Friedman at the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; the U.S. Department of State; the embassies at Abu Dhabi, UAE; Sanaa, Yemen; and The Hague in the Netherlands; and the Department of Defense. The case is being prosecuted by W. Anders Folk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and William M. Narus, from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section, with assistance having been provided by David Bitkower, formerly of the Counterterrorism Section and currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2401902/posts
The Threat at Home: A Disturbing Trend Among Somali-Americans
FrontPage Magazine ^ | December 7, 2009 | Ryan Mauro
Posted on December 7, 2009 1:34:32 AM PST by TDCAnalyst
As the United States turns its attention to security threats abroad, the disturbing trend of extremism in America’s Somali communities is a reminder that there are also real and present dangers at home.
A growing body of evidence suggests that Somali communities in the Unites States have become fertile ground for terrorist groups to recruit and implant operatives. On November 23, the federal government announced eight more indictments of Somali-Americans in Minnesota on charges of recruiting members of their community to join the al-Shabaab terrorist organization in Somalia. This brings to 14 the number of Somalis from Minnesota who have been indicted for helping the Al-Qaeda-linked group.
Of the eight indicted, only one has been arrested; the rest are currently outside of the United States. Four of those previously arrested have pled guilty and two have been released while they wait to be tried. The government believes that about 20 Somali-Americans have left the state to join al-Shabaab’s jihad in Somalia, at least three of whom have died since departing. One, Shirwa Ahmed, died when he became the first American suicide bomber.
Several of those indicted attended the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in St. Paul, as did many of those who were recruited. The mosque released a statement in March saying that “Abubakar Center didn’t recruit, finance, or otherwise facilitate in any way, shape, or form the travel of those youth.”
Somali gangs are also becoming an issue in Minnesota. Shukri Adan, a former Somali community organizer, said in 2007 that there 400-500 members of his community were involved in gangs. The Associated Press reported in July that
“Despite anger and despair over the killings in....
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