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The Rageh Omaar Report
From Minneapolis to Mogadishu
How 20 Somali-Americans who went to fight in Somalia were classified as terrorists.
Last Modified: 15 Jul 2010 11:30 GMT

At least 20 young American men of Somali background secretly left their homes in Minneapolis to return to Somalia and fight alongside a militant group called al-Shabab, with links to al-Qaeda.

They wanted to resist an US-backed invasion of their homeland by neighbouring Ethiopia.

Among them was Shirwa Ahmed who became the first known American suicide bomber.

Al-Shabab was on Washington's list of terror organisations, so all the young men who went to fight in Somalia were classified as terrorists.

The impact on the Somali community in Minneapolis was devastating and they are still feeling the repercussions two years later.

The Rageh Omaar Report: From Minneapolis to Mogadishu can be seen from Monday, February, 14, 2011 at the following times GMT: Monday: 2000; Tuesday: 1200; Wednesday: 0100.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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