US charges 14 over ties with Somali group

Fourteen people, including a number of US citizens, were indicted on charges of aiding the Shebab, a Somali-based Islamist group linked to Al Qaeda, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday.

Holder said four separate indictments unsealed in various locations charge the 14 "with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel, and services" to the group, which has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in Uganda last month.

The indictments "shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters" to the Shebab from the US, Holder said.

Two of those charged were arrested earlier in the day in Minnesota, officials said, including one man and one woman accused of raising money for the Shebab on the pretense of collecting funds "for the poor and needy."

Several of those named in the new indictments had been previously charged by US authorities, and several are believed to be overseas, likely in Somalia where they may be fighting for the Islamist group.

Holder said the latest charges were part of a broader investigation that had charged a total of 19 people, of whom nine had been arrested in the US or abroad.

"Ten of the charged defendants are not in custody and are believed to be overseas," he said.

One indictment unsealed on Thursday in Minnesota charges 10 men, including at least three US citizens, with terrorism offenses for leaving the United States to join the Shebab as foreign fighters, he added. Seven of these had been previously charged by either indictment or criminal complaint.

Also in Minnesota, FBI agents arrested Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 63, both naturalized US citizens from Somalia. The woman and man are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to the Shebab.

In two separate cases, two US citizens were charged in separate cases with providing material support to the Shebab. Both are believed to be in Somalia.

The Shebab, an extremist group that controls most of central and western Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attacks in Uganda's capital on July 11 that killed 76 people gathered to watch the World Cup final.

Earlier media report said 14 Americans had been arrested in the probe.

Holder said the Justice Department would continue to pursue cases of so-called homegrown terrorism involving Americans joining foreign extremist groups.

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