Monday, November 23, 2009

Somali-US youth told jihad would be 'fun'...Feds unseal new terror charges in long-running probe of men who left US to fight in Somalia

CHICAGO (AFP) - A group of Somali-American youth recruited to fight for an Islamist militia in Somalia were told it would be "fun," court documents have shown.Some 20 young men -- all but one of whom were of Somali descent -- have been recruited to leave their homes in Minnesota to join a bitter civil war an ocean away.One died while participating in a series of suicide bomb attacks in northern Somalia, officials said. Four other were also killed in the fighting, local media reports."The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia," US attorney Todd Jones said in a statement."These young men have been recruited to fight in a foreign war by individuals and groups using violence against government troops and civilians."Criminal charges have been filed against 14 men linked to the conspiracy to support terrorism and the investigation is "ongoing," the justice department said in a statement.All of those charged are from the Minneapolis area. Seven remain at large and are believed to be outside of the United States.Four of the men have pleaded guilty in the case and two others have been released pending trial, officials said.Mahamud Said Omar, who is accused of providing money to transport the youth to Somalia and buy them AK-47s, is currently being held in the Netherlands.Three of those who pleaded guilty are young men who admitted to traveling to Somalia to join the Al-Qaeda inspired Islamist group Shebab.They were among six youth who left Minneapolis in late 2007 to "fight the Ethiopians in Somalia," according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.The most recent group of recruits left in October 2009, officials said.One of the young men who pleaded guilty told investigators that the trainees at his camp"included dozens of other young ethnic Somalis from Somalia, elsewhere in Africa, Europe, and the United States."Two of the Minneapolis youth left after a week or two.The others were trained in the use of small arms and military-style tactics by Somali, Arab and Western instructors and were also "indoctrinated with anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-Western beliefs," the charging document said.One of the young men admitted to taking part in an armed ambush of Ethiopian troops with the young man who died at the wheel of an explosive-laden truck.Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, who remains at large, is accused of recruiting the young men in a series of meetings in homes, a local mosque and public places.
He allegedly spoke of his experience fighting along the Somali-Kenyan border and explained that "he experienced true brotherhood while fighting in Somalia and that travel for jihad was the best thing that they could do," the complaint alleges.Faarax also "told the co-conspirators that traveling to Somalia to fight jihad will be fun and not to be afraid."Abdiweli Yassin Isse is accused of raising money to finance the trips to Somalia by telling community members that he was raising money to send young men to study the Koran in Saudi Arabia.Both men are believed to be outside of the United States.US officials expressed gratitude to the Somali-American community for helping with the investigation."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 has consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity in support of al-Shebab," said Ralph Boelter, who heads the Minneapolis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091124/world/us_attacks_somalia_youth_court_1

Feds unseal new terror charges in long-running probe of men who left US to fight in Somalia

Promising both "true brotherhood" and "fun," several Somali men convinced fellow immigrants in Minneapolis to return to their East African homeland and take up arms with a terrorist group, according to federal charges unsealed Monday against eight individuals, The charges are part of an unfolding federal investigation into the disappearance of as many as 20 young Somali men from Minneapolis over the last two years _ most of them U.S. citizens who federal authorities say are guilty of terrorism. Federal prosecutors say most of the men traveled to Somalia to join the terror group al-Shabab, which the U.S. State Department says has links to al-Qaeda.
Ralph S. Boelter, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis field office, called the latest round of indictments a "tipping point" in the more than yearlong investigation. "We have reached momentum, and reached a point where we will have full resolution of this case," Boelter said at a news conference with Minnesota's U.S. Attorney, B. Todd Jones.
Fourteen people have been charged in the investigation. The eight charged Monday are accused of a mix of recruiting and raising funds for the trips, and of engaging in terrorist acts in civil war-torn Somalia. Indictments say some attended terrorist training camps where they received instruction in firing small arms and machine guns, military style tactics and indoctrination in "anti-Ethiopian, anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-Western beliefs," according to a federal affidavit.
Two of those charged Monday helped raise money for the trips by approaching unknowing members of Minnesota's Somali community and soliciting funds by telling them it was to pay for trips for young Somali men to travel to Saudi Arabia and study the Koran, according to the affidavit.
Boelter and Jones said one reason they disclosed new details about the case was to reassure members of Minnesota's Somali community that the investigation is focused on a relatively small group of individuals. The larger community "has consistently expressed deep concern about this pattern of recruitment activity," Jones said...more..http://www.newser.com/article/d9c5iju81/feds-unseal-new-terror-charges-in-long-running-probe-of-men-who-left-us-to-fight-in-somalia.html
FBI announces charges against al-Shabaab recruiters http://bit.ly/7g7yZR

No comments:

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Blog Archive

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

Terror Free Somalia Foundation