3 accused in al-Shabab terror-funding plot
Published 1:33 pm Wednesday, November 3, 2010
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri man and a Minnesotan are among three people facing charges they plotted to funnel money to a terror group in Somalia.
An indictment returned Oct. 21 and unsealed Wednesday in St. Louis accuses Mohamud Abdi Yusuf of St. Louis of four counts of providing material support to al-Shabab. Yusuf and Abdi Mahdi Hussein of Minneapolis also are accused of conspiring to structure financial transactions. A third man, Duane Mohamed Diriye, is also charged and at-large.
The U.S. government alleges that from early 2008 through at least July of last year, Yusuf used aliases in wiring funds to al-Shabab supporters in Somalia. Hussein allegedly worked at one of the money-transferring businesses.
Federal agents arrested Yusuf on Monday in St. Louis, and arrested Hussein on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Yusuf’s federal public defender declined comment Wednesday. Online court records do not show whether Hussein has an attorney.
