U.S. indicts 14 on charges of supporting Somali terror group, Two Rochester women charged with aiding Somali terrorists with al-Qaida ties

14 indicted in Alabama Al Shabaab US Terror Pipeline for Somalian Civil Conflict

Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice about 14 people people who have been charged with supporting the Somali terrorist group Shabab. He was joined by law enforcement representatives and U.S. attorneys from Alabama, Minnesota and California. (Getty Images / August 5, 2010)

WASHINGTON — — The U.S. government on Thursday announced 14 people have been indicted on charges they provided support to the Somali terrorist group Shabab, shedding light on "a deadly pipeline" that has routed funding and fighters to the group from cities across the United States, Atty. Gen. Eric Holder said.Most of those charged were U.S. citizens of Somali descent. It has long been known that young, disaffected Somali immigrants were leaving their homes in Minnesota and other states to fight for Shabab, a Somali Islamist army whose several thousand fighters are battling Somalia's weak transitional government. Today's indictments represent the U.S. government's most significant public response to that problem.Shabab, which routinely beheads its enemies, has been branded a terrorist group by the U.S. and other nations, and in turn has declared war on the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in Somalia. The group claimed responsibility for a bombing last month that killed scores of fans who were watching a World Cup soccer match in Uganda's capital. It is not known to be responsible for any attack on U.S. soil.Some of those charged were already in custody, but earlier Thursday, FBI agents arrested Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 63, both naturalized U.S. citizens from Somalia and residents of Rochester, Minn. Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to Shabab from Sept. 17, 2008 through July 19, 2010. Ali is also charged in the indictment with 12 counts of providing material support to Shabab. Hassan is also charged with three counts of making false statements."As demonstrated by the charges unsealed today, we are seeing an increasing number of individuals —including U.S. citizens — who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad," Holder told reporters.The indictment accuses the two women of raising money to support Shabab through door-to-door solicitations and teleconferences in Somali communities in Minneapolis, Rochester, and elsewhere, in some cases "under the false pretense that they would be used to aid the poor and the needy."Ali made 12 money transfers to Shabab in 2008 and 2009 totaling $8,608, the indictment said.The U.S. government designated Shabab a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008, and said it has ties to al-Qaida.

The indictments allege illegal conduct in Minnesota, Alabama and California.The Minnesota investigation has been unfolding for some time. Roughly 20 men — all but one of Somali descent — left Minnesota from December 2007 through October 2009 to join Shabab, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia with an ideology akin to the Taliban in Afghanistan.Two indictments unsealed in Minnesota added five new names to a list of people charged in the investigation in that state, bringing the total charged there to 19. Nine have been arrested in the U.S. or overseas, five of whom pleaded guilty, Holder said. Ten are at large, believed to be overseas.Shabab members began pledging allegiance to al-Qaida last year. One of its most famous members is known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, or "the American." He appeared in a jihadist video in May 2009.In another unrelated to case, a 26-year-old Chicago man was charged Wednesday with plotting to go to Somalia to become a suicide bomber for al-Qaida and Shabab.Prosecutors told a judge that the Chicago man, Shaker Masri, attempted to provide support through the use of a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.

Two Rochester women charged with aiding Somali terrorists with al-Qaida ties

Two Rochester women of Somali descent are among a group of 14 Somali-Americans to be indicted for providing support to a Somali terror organization with ties to al-Qaida.Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, both naturalized American citizens, have been charged with providing financial support to Al-Shabab, a group that has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia. The U.S. State Department has classified Al-Shabab as a terrorist organization.

The women were arrested by FBI agents Thursday morning, officials said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said of the charges: "These indictments and arrests -- in Minnesota, Alabama and California -- shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters to Al-Shabab from cities across the United States."According to a grand jury indictment unsealed in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Hassan and Ali communicated by telephone with members of Al-Shabab in Somalia and then worked to raise money for the group here in Minnesota.Advertising that their fundraising was to help the poor and needy in their homeland, the women used teleconferences to make direct appeals to others to provide financial support to Al-Shabab and its work to further jihad, or holy war, investigators said.They then allegedly transmitted funds to Somalia using several money-wiring companies here in Minnesota. According to the indictment, the women used 12 money transfers to wire more than $8,600 to Al-Shabab in 2008 and 2009.
The women have apparently been under investigation for quite a while.
On July 14, 2009, the day after the FBI searched her Rochester home, Ali allegedly contacted an unindicted co-conspirator and said: "I was questioned by the enemy here... they took all my stuff and are investigating it.... Do not accept calls from anyone."The indictment also alleges that Hassan lied when questioned by federal ageThe women are expected to make an initial appearance in federal court later today. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.


Arrests should be a warning
"While our investigations are ongoing around the country, these arrests and charges should serve as an unmistakable warning to others considering joining or supporting terrorist groups like Al-Shabab: If you choose this route you can expect to find yourself in a U.S. jail cell or a casualty on the battlefield in Somalis," Holder said. "As demonstrated by the charges unsealed today, we are seeing an increasing number of individuals - including U.S. citizens - who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad."The most recent Minnesota indictment includes the names of five people who previously had not been charged by the grand jury that has been investigating the case for more than a year.Abdikadir Ali Abdi, Abdisalan Hussein Ali, Farah Mohamed Beledi, Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax and Abdiweli Yassin Isse all are charged with providing material support to those to traveled to Somalia to fight with Al-Shabab. Previously, Faarax and Isse had been charged by the U.S. Attorney's office. Faraax is considered to have been a key recruiter in the Minneapolis area and was reported to have been injured while fighting previously in his homeland.Hassan and Ali, the Rochester women, were charged in a separate indictment. They face a total of 13 counts of providing material support to a terror organization.Before the indictments were announced Thursday, a total of 14 men -- most of whom lived in the Minneapolis area -- had been charged or indicted in connection with an investigation that began more than two years ago, after young Somali men from Minnesota started secretly slipping away from their families.
Five of them have pleaded guilty to charges in connection to the case. Another sits in jail in the Netherlands, awaiting extradition.Five Somali men with Minnesota connections have been killed in the fighting waged by Al-Shabab for control of war-torn Somalia. Another Minneapolis man, a convert to Islam, also was killed.
Similar cases of Somalis returning to their homeland to train and fight have arisen in Europe, Canada and Australia.
State case started with a death

The Minnesota investigation took off in October 2008, when Shirwa Ahmed, an American citizen who attended high school and college in Minneapolis, died as part of a coordinated suicide bombing attack in northern Somalia.Ahmed's death immediately heightened fears in the U.S. intelligence community that other Somali men from the United States who left to train and fight with a terrorist group might return to the United States and carry out an attack here.While FBI officials say they've found no evidence of planned attacks on U.S. soil, investigators learned that many of the men who left here were indeed trained to fight in Somalia.Over the next year, investigators say, more than a dozen young local men were seduced to the cause of fighting for Al-Shabab, a group the U.S. State Department said is aligned with Al-Qaida.
Al-Shabab has been fighting for control of Somalia, but it also has extended its reach with attacks in neighboring countries.The federal government designated al-Shabab a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008.The indictments were among four announced Thursday by the Department of Justice. The others were in Alabama and California.In Alabama, officials charged Omar Shafik Hammami, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Alabama, with providing material support to Al-Shabab. Hammami has become something of a YouTube phenomenon, appearing in Al-Shabab recruiting and training videos.In California, prosecutors unsealed an October 2009 indictment against Jehad Serwan Mostafa, a U.S. citizen and former resident of San Diego. He offered himself as a fighter for Al-Shabab and is believed to currently be in Somalia.  Five Somali men with Minnesota connections have been killed in the fighting waged by Al-Shabab for control of war-torn Somalia. Another Minneapolis man, a convert to Islam, also was killed.Similar cases of Somalis returning to their homeland to train and fight have arisen in Europe, Canada and Australia.
State case started with a death
The Minnesota investigation took off in October 2008, when Shirwa Ahmed, an American citizen who attended high school and college in Minneapolis, died as part of a coordinated suicide bombing attack in northern Somalia.Ahmed's death immediately heightened fears in the U.S. intelligence community that other Somali men from the United States who left to train and fight with a terrorist group might return to the United States and carry out an attack here.While FBI officials say they've found no evidence of planned attacks on U.S. soil, investigators learned that many of the men who left here were indeed trained to fight in Somalia.Over the next year, investigators say, more than a dozen young local men were seduced to the cause of fighting for Al-Shabab, a group the U.S. State Department said is aligned with Al-Qaida.
Al-Shabab has been fighting for control of Somalia, but it also has extended its reach with attacks in neighboring countries.The federal government designated al-Shabab a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008.The indictments were among four announced Thursday by the Department of Justice. The others were in Alabama and California.In Alabama, officials charged Omar Shafik Hammami, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Alabama, with providing material support to Al-Shabab. Hammami has become something of a YouTube phenomenon, appearing in Al-Shabab recruiting and training videos.In California, prosecutors unsealed an October 2009 indictment against Jehad Serwan Mostafa, a U.S. citizen and former resident of San Diego. He offered himself as a fighter for Al-Shabab and is believed to currently be in Somalia  James StarTribune Walsh • 612-673-7428