The FBI has continually sited concerns over the past several months about the recruitment of Somali men in America who have gone overseas to fight with the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. The probe has also caused serious tension between the FBI and the Somali-American community.
MINNEAPOLIS — Terrorism charges were filed today in Minneapolis against eight men from Minnesota in connection with an ongoing FBI investigation into the recruitment and training of up to 20 local Somali men believed to have returned to their homeland to fight for the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab.
The eight were also charged with providing financial support and fighting for Al-Shabaab, designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist group with ties to Al-Qaida.
The development, announced at a 3 o’clock briefing at the office of the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, brings to 14 the total number of local men charged or indicted in the case, considered to be one of the most far-reaching counterterrorism probes since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Four of the 14 already have pleaded guilty, but have not been sentenced.
