The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed four separate indictments accusing 14 people, including U.S. citizens, on terrorism charges for providing money, personnel and services to al-Shabaab, a terrorist group operating in Somalia with ties to al Qaeda.
Two of those named in the documents are women, Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, both naturalized U.S. citizens and residents of Minnesota. They were arrested by FBI agents in Minnesota. The others are fugitives, many of whom are believed to be in Somalia.
"These indictments and arrests in Minnesota, Alabama, and California shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters to al-Shabaab from cities across the United States," said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., in announcing the indictments.
Al-Shabaab is an Islamist insurgency organization aligned with al Qaeda that controls much of Somalia's southern and central regions. With an estimated 3,000-7,000 members, it has waged jihad against the weak Somali Transitional Federal Government.
