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Six Minnesota men charged with trying to join ISIL

Monday, 20 April 2015 4:35 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 April 2015 5:10 PM ]

US Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger (right) surrounded by local law enforcement authorities (file photo)

Six men from the US state of Minnesota have been charged with terrorism, becoming the latest Americans accused of planning to join the ISIL terrorist group in Syria, authorities said.

The six were arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and San Diego, California, on Sunday and were charged with conspiracy to provide material support and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.

All six men were arrested as part of a months-long FBI investigation into recruiting of young men from the area to join the ISIL terrorist organization.

"We have a terror recruiting problem in Minnesota," US Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger said at a news conference Monday.

State authorities warned earlier that a number of Minnesota residents have traveled to Syria to fight alongside militants in the past year.

The Minneapolis area is home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the United States. Since 2007, dozens of people from the area have traveled or attempted to travel overseas to fight for ISIL or al Shabab, a militant group in Somalia.

US officials have warned the public and law enforcement agencies across the country about young Americans trying to join the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

The ISIL terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

HRJ/HRJ

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