Salah Osman Ahmed of Brooklyn Pleased Guilty to Shabaab Link

Brooklyn Park man will plead guilty to supporting terrorists, attorney says
Second terrorism suspect to plead guilty today.

Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, will plead guilty in federal court today to providing material support to terrorists, according to his attorney.

Ahmed, a part-time security guard from Brooklyn Park, is accused of traveling to Somalia in December 2007, allegedly to train with al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group that federal officials say has links to al-Qaida.

Ahmed's attorney, James Ostgard, said late Monday night that his client will plead guilty to a single count -- providing material support to terrorists -- before U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Ostgard said three other counts will be dismissed at Ahmed's sentencing: Conspiracy to Kill, Kidnap, Main and Injure and two counts of giving false information to law enforcement.

Ahmed was one of two men indicted by a grand jury in February for training with al-Shabaab. Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, of Seattle, Wash., also has admitted to federal investigators that he trained with the terrorist group. Isse has already pleaded guilty.

The indictments for both men were made public two weeks ago after Ahmed was arrested on his way to his security job. Isse had been in custody since his arrest in Seattle in February.

• Investigators say the indictments are part of a larger, ongoing investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 Twin Cities men of Somali descent over the past two years.
• Family members and federal officials believe the men have returned to Somalia to fight in a continuing civil war.
• Family members or federal officials have confirmed that at least four of those Minnesota men have been killed.

It is believed that the ongoing investigation focuses on who recruited and funded the men's travel to Somalia.

By JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune

The Rest @ The Minniapolis Star Tribune