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Fact about Al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab (which roughly translates as "Youth") is an extreme Islamist movement that previously controlled large parts of Somalia.

It is classified as a terrorist organization by several western countries.

Al-Shabaab has attacked peacekeeping troops from the African Union leading to the murder of peace activists, aid workers and journalists.

The group is suspected to be behind several suicide attacks in recent months in Somalia.

Two Swedes accused of terrorist crimes in the U.S.

Sunday, 23 December 2012
Two Swedish nationals have been charged with terrorism offenses in the U.S.A..
Swedish media reports hold that the FBI suspected the men have been trained to become suicide bombers by a Somali terror group.

Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed media reports that two Swedish nationals in their 30s are in custody in New York and they are accused of terrorism-related crimes.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the Swedes were arrested in Djibouti last summer and extradited to the U.S. in November. The FBI on its part is reported to have said that the Swedes have connections to the Somali terror organization al-Shabaab, a group the is against the United States.

"The accused is not aspiring terrorists, they're terrorists. They did more than get terrorist training: they used it in terrorist operations of al-Shabaab," writes George Venizelos at the FBI in New York in the statement, according to Swedish media reports

Img: Al-Shabaab organisation, SVT
The Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Sara Brandt-Hansen says that staff from Sweden Consulate have visited the two Swedes, who are 27 and 29 years old, and that they "feel good given the circumstances." The two were extradited from Djibouti to the United States in November, a decision that Sweden had not been able to influence or intervene, according to the Foreign Ministry.

"We will go and visit them regularly during the time they are held," says Charlotta Ozaki Macias, communications director at the Swedish foreign office.

"They were devout followers of al-Shabaab, a violent terrorist organization, which used heavy weapons and participated in combat operations and al-Shabaab suicide bombing program," asserts the prosecutor, Loretta Lynch in the press release, report the Swedish media. If the two are thus convicted on all counts, they risk a prison sentence of between 30 years to life, according to the FBI.

Sara Kvarnström, press secretary of the Swedish Security Service, confirmed that the case with the two Swedes are known within the organization. But when Swedes are suspected of having committed crimes abroad it becomes a consular matter for the foreign office, she notes.
By Scancomark.com Team

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