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Federal prosecutors have filed new terror related charges against 8 people as part of a long running inquiry of young Somali men who left the USA to fight in Somalia.

While the exact numbers are not known, it is believed that at least 20 young Somali men left Minnesota over the past 24 months to join the renegade Somali terror group, al Shabab. Of the twenty, three are presumed to have been killed.

Federal investigators indicate that the accused men provided financial backing to the individuals who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of Al Shabab, a group which has been designated as a terror organization by the US government.

Court records reveal that between Sept 2007 to Oct 2009, 20 young men left Minnesota for Somalia. The group later trained and joined al Shabab to fight against the Ethiopian forces. Prosecutors claim that they have evidence to show that these men learnt how to use military arsenal including rocket propelled grenade, improvised electronic devices and other warfare strategies

So far 4 individuals have already pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. At least 7 other individuals charges are believed to be back in hiding.

FBI Director Robert Mueller announced that this case reveals fragility of our society, whereby young men raised in America can readily be enlisted by terrorists to train and attack other people overseas.

Said US Attorney for Minnesota, B Todd Jones, “The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia.”

A key suspect named in the case is Mohamud Said Omar who was arrested in early November in Holland. Prosecutors accuse Omar, a Somali citizen and US permanent resident of aiding young men to travel to Somali and also providing large sums of money for the purchase of weapons.

Omar’s brothers who also live in Minnesota on the other hand claim that US authorities have got it all wrong because Omar is not an extremist.

Jones sent a warning to others saying anyone who chooses this path will met with severe punishment, “Those tempted to fight on behalf of or provide support to any designated terrorist group should know they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for more than 19 years and the country is in chaos. For the 7 million people who still live in the country, it is a living hell. Warlords have been known to kill people by stoning and cutting off hands.