FBI: Somalis leaving Minnesota to fight in Syria
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -The FBI says more Somali travelers have left Minnesota, possibly to fight against the regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria. Investigators believe those who left Minnesota were motivated by radical ideology, not nationalism.
SOURCE: 12 MINNESOTA SOMALIS HAVE LEFT FOR SYRIA
The FBI has not specified how many people are believed to involved, but a leader in the Minnesota Somali community told Fox 9 News a dozen men have left. The FBI confirmed they have “indications” that some recently traveled overseas. Now, they are reaching out to the large Somali population in Minnesota to learn more.
If you know anyone who is planning to and/or has traveled to a foreign country for armed combat or who is being recruited for such activities, please contact www.fbi.gov/fttips or call (763) 569-8020. All information will be kept completely confidential.
RECENT SUICIDE BOMBING LINKED TO FLORIDA MAN
The request for tips comes about a week after an American from Florida died in a suicide bombing attack on Syrian government troops in the city of Iblib.
Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha is believed to be the first U.S. citizen involved in a suicide bombing in the civil war’s three-year history.
MINNESOTA SOMALI COMMUNITY ‘VULNERABLE’
Since 2007, at least 22 young men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabaab in Somalia. Some have died there, and some were even praised as “Minnesota Martyrs” in an elaborate video released last year.
MORE: Video from al-Shabaab praises 3 Minn. travelers
Some of the so-called travelers were prosecuted for their role in what the FBI has described as one of the largest efforts to recruit U.S. fighters to a foreign terrorist organization, and community activist Abdi Bihi says his community is particularly vulnerable to such efforts due to a lack of jobs, programs and feeling like outsiders.
“The key of this is the vastness of the vulnerability,” he said.
According to Bihi, local Somalis have been talking about the Syrian conflict in recent days and he is worried that a radical element is trying to create a new pipeline of violence.
“We are very concerned about this summer,” Bihi told the Associated Press. “People are shocked. They used to talk about kids leaving from Europe (for Syria). Now, they started talking about here. … It’s insane.”
NEW RECRUITING PUSH
Just last month, a new al-Shabaab recruiting video was released — and it specifically mentioned Minnesota in a brazen pitch urging possible recruits to catch the next flight to Mogadishu.
In the video, al-Shabaab members armed with guns send a “message to the youth in the west” by stumbling through a rhyming appeal that praised those who carried out a vicious attack on a busy mall in Nairobi. All were wearing military-style camouflage and covered their faces.