The FBI made a string of arrests Sunday, taking a total of six people into custody in Minneapolis and San Diego in a terrorism joint task force operation. The arrests follow an inquiry into young people from the Twin Cities area who have joined terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Shabab.
Details about the case are still emerging. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Minnesota office has confirmed the arrests to several media outlets, saying that public safety was not under an immediate threat. So far, it seems that all of those arrested are young men whose families are originally from Somalia.
A news briefing about the arrests is scheduled for Monday morning; we'll update this post with news.
From Minnesota Public Radio:
"A Somali woman who said she was the mother of two men who were arrested told MPR News that the FBI arrived at her house around noon. One of her sons was arrested at her house; the other was arrested in San Diego. "She said more than a dozen FBI and police officers searched her house and confiscated a tablet computer owned by the son arrested in San Diego."
That woman met with other parents whose sons were arrested Sunday; they're part of a large Somali community in Minneapolis.
"The community is in a state of confusion," Somali activist Omar Jamal tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "They don't know what is going on. ... This is a very serious issue. We as a community are concerned about losing our kids to [ISIS]."
According to MPR, "about 15 young people from the Twin Cities... allegedly traveled to Syria to support the terrorist group ISIS over the past year or so."
And the Star Tribune says, "At least 22 young Somali men have left Minnesota since 2007 to join Al-Shabab in Somalia."
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