Eight Charged In U.S. for Somali War Recruiting

Authorities unsealed terrorism-related charges Monday against eight defendants they said recruited young Somali-American men to return to their homeland to fight for an Islamist militant group.

The charges said men were recruited in Minneapolis mosques to fight for al-Shabaab, which the United States accuses of being al Qaeda’s proxy in the Horn of Africa nation.

In all, authorities have charged 14 people with recruiting, training or financing travel for young Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, which is home to some 50,000 Somalis.

About 20 young men, all but one of Somali descent, have left the Minneapolis area since September 2007 to train with and fight for al-Shabaab, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said all were recruited to fight in Somalia, and there was no indication any had been directed to come back to the United States to launch attacks on U.S. soil.

“The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia,” Jones said.

“These young men have been recruited to fight in a foreign war by individuals and groups using violence against government troops and civilians,” he said.

via Source.

Germany Openly Warns of Terror Threat

A recent routine police operation uncovered a possible terror suspect. The development illustrates just how tense the security situation is in Germany, with the government issuing the clearest warnings yet of a possible attack by Islamist terrorists. How much do the country’s security officials know?

The officers were exceedingly polite, waiting for Ali R. to complete his Friday prayers, pack his things and leave the mosque in the western German city of Essen. Only then did they approach the imam and ask him to come with them. They took him to the Büren Prison near the northwestern city of Paderborn, where detainees are held pending deportation. The action was taken in response to a request by the German foreigners registration authority, which had been seeking Ali R., a medical student, since March, because his German residence permit had expired. The officers were not particularly enthusiastic about their mission, which was just another routine police operation. As a result, their search of Ali R., 29, was perfunctory at best.

via The Great Fear: Germany Openly Warns of Terror Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.

Somali Man’s Family Says He’s Not A Terrorist

Prosecutors portray a 25-year-old Minneapolis man accused of waging jihad in Somalia as a would-be terrorist who went so far as to help build a training camp. But family members of Abdifatah Yusuf Isse say the former college economics major never wanted to be a terrorist but got in over his head after he accepted a plane ticket to Somalia so he could visit his grandmother.

Isse and Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, are the first two men charged in a long-running federal investigation into the recruitment of Minnesota Somalis to join Islamist fighters in Somalia.

A grand jury indictment in February was unsealed this week after Ahmed was arrested. The court file, briefly sealed and then unsealed Wednesday without explanation, sheds some

This undated photo provided Wednesday, July 15, 2009 by the Washington County Jail in Stillwater, Minn., shows Abdifatah Yusuf Isse. Isse is one of two men 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. (AP Photo/Washington County Jail) (AP)

light on the case. In the last 18 months, up to 20 Twin Cities men of Somali descent are believed to have returned to their homeland, and at least three have turned up dead in Somalia, according to their families.

Isse pleaded guilty in April to federal charges that he provided support to terrorists and has been cooperating with the FBI’s investigation, according to the court documents.

His attorney, Paul Engh, said in a June filing that Isse and other young Somalis were recruited at a house of worship to fight in Somalia. Prosecutors say Isse admitted that he trained with terrorists in Somalia and helped build a terrorist training camp.

via Somali man’s family says he’s not a terrorist – TwinCities.com.

Philippines Church Bomb Blast Kills Five

Islamist militants have been blamed for a bomb blast in the Philippines today which killed at least five people and wounded dozens more.

The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city, 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, as church-goers celebrated Mass.

A woman selling roast pork was killed on the spot while four others, including a soldier and three-year-old boy, died in a nearby hospital. Among the wounded were five soldiers who were passing the cathedral in an army van when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded said army spokesman Colonel Jonathan Ponce.

“This is the handiwork of the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” Colonel Ponce told reporters, referring to the Muslim organisation which has waged a decades long battle for self rule in the southern island of Mindanao.

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Canadian Arrested in Somalia For Bombing Plot

A Canadian has been arrested in Somalia for allegedly planning to bomb leaders of a moderate political faction, according to local media reports that identified him as a member of the militant group Al-Shabab.

Abdifatah Mohamad Ibrahim appeared in court yesterday in the central Galgudud region, where authorities showed his Canadian passport to spectators, according to Radio Garowe and the Somali-language news site allpuntland.com.

The reports said he was arrested March 8 by clan militias loyal to Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama, which has been battling Al-Shabab. Authorities are investigating whether he was attempting to assassinate top Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama officers.

One report said he was arrested while driving a vehicle filled with explosives. He has been charged with five offences, including that he was trained to use explosives, that he planned bombings and that he intended to travel to Burao in Somaliland to “commit acts of insecurity,” Radio Garowe reported. He has allegedly admitted that he was a trained member of Al-Shabab.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was not aware of any recent arrests of Canadian citizens in Somalia but Ottawa has no diplomatic presence in the country. Consular officials in Nairobi were seeking further information on the matter.

“Due to the highly volatile and unpredictable nature of the security situation in Somalia, the government of Canada’s ability to provide consular assistance to Canadians in distress is severely restricted,” said Daniel Barbarie, a Foreign Affairs spokesman.

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Yemen – US Embassy Terror Attack Leaves Several Dead, Injured

Islamist militants attacked the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa with a car bomb and rockets on Wednesday, leaving 16 people dead, in the second strike on the high-security compound in six months.

No American personnel were reported injured. Read more