6 Aug 2010

Charges laid against supporters of Somali terror group

4:16 pm on 6 August 2010

Fourteen people in the United States - most of them US citizens - have been charged with providing support for al-Shabab in Somalia.

Al Shabab has close ties to Al Qaeda and was behind the bombing of a World Cup party in Uganda in which 74 people died.

The charges follow a two-year investigation by the FBI in Minnesota, Alabama and California.

Attorney General Eric Holder said it should send a strong message to anyone considering supporting al-Shabab.

The BBC reports the charges stem from four separate indictments in the states of Minnesota, Alabama and California.

Concerns about al-Shabab have grown after the group carried out a bomb attack in Uganda.

The indictments were unsealed on Thursday.