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Gabe
Joselow
Washington, August 7, 2010 – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced
charges on Thursday against 14 suspects accused of supporting the
terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia. Holder said the indictments
reflect a "disturbing trend" of terrorist organizations recruiting in
the United States.
Attorney General Holder announced four indictments charging suspects in
Minnesota, California and Alabama with seeking to provide money,
personnel and services to al-Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaida.
Two suspects have been arrested, the rest are still at large with
several believed to be in Somalia fighting for al-Shabaab. The group,
designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, has been
battling the transitional Somali government for control of Mogadishu.
It has also been blamed for recent suicide bombings in Uganda.
Holder said the ongoing probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of
al-Shabaab's U.S. operations should prevent others from joining its
ranks. "These arrests and charges should serve as an unmistakable
warning to others who are considering joining or supporting terrorist
groups like al-Shabaab. If you choose this route, you can expect to
find yourself in a United States jail cell or to be a casualty on a
Somali battlefield," he said.
Most of
those charged in the indictments are naturalized U.S. citizens who were
recruited by the group.
A large number of Somalis immigrated to the United States after the fall
of the last stable Somali government in 1991. Many of them settled in
Minnesota. Ten men from the northern state were charged in the
indictments with leaving the United States to join al-Shabaab fighters.
Two women from Minnesota were arrested and charged with going
door-to-door in Somali neighborhoods, telling people they were
collecting funds for charity, while they were raising money for
al-Shabaab.
The U.S. attorney general said investigations show an increasing number
of people, including U.S. citizens, are following extremist ideologies
and seeking to carry out terrorist objectives in the United States and
abroad. "This is a very disturbing trend that we have been intensely
investigating in recent years, and will continue to investigate and will
root out. But we must also work to prevent this type of radicalization
from ever taking hold," he said.
Holder praised the Muslim-American community for its efforts to stop
militants from recruiting young Muslims.
The indictments follow the arrest on Wednesday of a 26-year-old Chicago
man charged with attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaab
and planning to join the group to commit a suicide attack.
Shaker Masri, a U.S. citizen, was arrested hours before he was due to
leave for Somalia.
Source:
VOA, August 06, 2010
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