A San Diego woman charged with supporting a Somalia-based terrorist organization will remain behind bars while her lawyer puts together a case for granting her bail.
Nima Ali Yusef, 24, is accused of providing money and personnel to al-Shabaab, but her case is separate from that of three area men accused of providing funding to the same group, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Yusef, who was arrested last Friday, is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and making false statements to investigators.
During a short hearing today, lawyer Charles Rees told U.S. Magistrate Judge Nita Stormes that he needed more time to investigate the case before he can ask for bail for Yusef. Possible immigration issues might result in her staying in custody without bail anyway, he said.
The attorney also said he needed to look at two sealed search warrants in order to prepare his case.
Stormes scheduled a new hearing for Nov. 29 and ordered the search warrants to be unsealed.
Three San Diego men were recently indicted on similar charges in connection with allegedly raising money at the behest of a since-killed al-Shabaab military commander.
The U.S. government describes al-Shabaab as a group that uses assassinations, improvised explosives devices, rockets, mortars, automatic weapons, suicide bombings and other tactics of intimidation and violence to undermine Somalia's government and its supporters.
Al-Shabaab was in the news recently when its members executed a pair of teenage girls by firing squad in a central Somali town, after accusing them of spying for the United States. Townspeople were forced to watch the shooting.
The organization, based in southern Somalia, imposes a Taliban-style religious order in areas under its control. Some of its fighters have trained in Afghanistan and are linked to al-Qaeda, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
Many of al-Shabaab's attacks are against aid workers and African Union peacekeepers, according to the NCTC.
