04 November, 2011

Somalia native pleads guilty to funding terrorism

Somalia native pleads guilty to funding terrorism

A refugee from Somalia who worked as an airport cab driver in St. Louis has pleaded guilty to funding terrorism in Somalia.

The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis says 31-year-old Mohamud Abdi Yusuf entered the guilty plea Thursday, admitting that he raised nearly $6,000 for al-Shabab, which was trying to overthrown the provisional government in Somalia. The U.S. government named al-Shabab a terrorist organization in 2008.

Yusuf admitted to soliciting money and coordinating the transfer of the money to al-Shabab.

The case was the first post-Sept. 11, 2001, international terrorism case in federal court in St. Louis.

Sentencing is Jan. 31, and Yusuf faces up to 15 years in prison.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/somalia-native-pleads-guilty-to-funding-terrorism/article_aec4cbd3-f921-5399-af75-f02411c611cb.html#ixzz1cmXUMZeM http://samotalis.blogspot.com/

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