FBI Investigates Twin Cities Somali Men

The FBI investigation into a Minnesota terror network may be narrowing in on a possible suspect. Wednesday, the U.S. Senate will begin hearing on terror recruitment in the Twin Cities.

Within the past two weeks, a federal grand jury has been looking into whether young Somali men in the Twin Cities are being radicalized and recruited to fight a holy war back in Somalia.

Last October, Shirwa Ahmed of Minneapolis became a suicide bomber in Somalia. Ahmed once attended the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in south Minneapolis. Others like 17-year-old Burhan Hassan were involved in the mosque's youth programs.

As many as a dozen Somali men are believed to have left the Twin Cities last year to fight for Al Shabab, a militant group with ties to Al Qaeda that controls much of Somalia.

The director of Abubakar, which recently held an open house for the community, says the mosque condemns suicide bombings and all violence. The mosque says the FBI has questioned 50 members of the Somali community. Another 10 have been called before the federal grand jury.

Wednesday, the U.S. Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on terror recruitment in the U.S., specifically here in Minnesota. Several local members of the Somali community are expected to testify.