U.S. Al Shabab Recruit Indicted

Posted by Bulletin on July 23, 2010 in World | 0 Comment

Al Shabab Spread it Influence in The West

F.B.- Twenty year old Fairfax county native, Zachary Adam Chesser was detained on 10 July as he tried to board a flight to Uganda.

This was Chesser’s second time trying to go abroad in the name of terror, however, Chesser is on the “no fly list”.

Al-Shabab has taken control of large parts of Somalia and claims to have links with al-Qaeda.

“This case exposes the disturbing reality that extreme radicalisation can happen anywhere, including Northern Virginia,” said US Attorney Neil MacBride.

“This young man is accused of seeking to join the Shabab, a brutal terrorist organisation with ties to al-Qaeda. These allegations underscore the need for continued vigilance against homegrown terror threats.”

Mr Chesser was also named in court papers as Abu Talhah al-Amrikee.

He allegedly told investigating agents that he maintained several online profiles dedicated to extremist jihad propaganda.

US investigators alleged that Mr Chesser was a follower of radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American Muslim cleric of Yemeni descent who is believed to be in Yemen with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Mr al-Awlaki is suspected of helping plan the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit last Christmas, as well as assisting in the fort Hood shootings.

Mr Chesser reportedly posted an online warning in April that the creators of the South Park cartoon risked death for an episode that included a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit.

There have been numerous reports of American grown jihadis as well as foreign self recruited jihadis flocking to parts of east Africa to join Al Shabab.

Sulaiman Basir; ideacanon@gmail.com