Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                       Minnesota IS Terror Case Underway

   by Abdulaziz Osman

   Jury selection began in Minnesota Monday in the federal trial of three
   Somali-Americans accused of conspiring to provide material support to
   the Islamic State group.

   Mohamed Farah, 22, Guled Omar, 21 and Abdirahman Daud 22, were among
   several Minnesota men who met numerous times from March 2014 to April
   2015 to look for the best way to travel to Syria to join the terror
   group. The men were all stopped by law enforcement before they could
   board planes.

   Federal prosecutors said the three have been charged with conspiring to
   commit murder outside the U.S., which if found, carries the possibility
   of life in prison. The men all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

   Sadik Warfa, a Somali-America activist who was at today's trail session
   told VOA's Somali service that one of the three defendants requested to
   have a new lawyer, as he had no confidence in his current attorney, but
   that requested was denied by the U.S. District judge Michael Davis.

   Six other men who were part of the group have already pleaded guilty to
   one count each of conspiracy to support to the Islamic State group, but
   a tenth man who is also charged is believed to with IS in Syria.

   The parents of these men denied the accusations.

   The trail could last about three weeks.

   Minneapolis, Minnesota's largest city, has a large Somali community,
   and U.S. authorities say the city is ripe for extremists looking for
   would-be terrorists. Since 2007, a dozen Somali-Americans have left the
   state to join terrorist groups in Somalia and in recent years in Syria.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/minnesota-is-terror-case-underway/332
   2962.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/minnesota-is-terror-case-underway/3322962.html