Three Somali men; Madhi Hashi, 25, from Somalia, and Swedes Ali Yasin Ahmed, 30, and Mohamed Yusuf, 32, also of Somali origin have pleaded guilty of conspiracy to support the Somali based terrorist group Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahedeen.
Ali Yasin Ahmed and Mohamed Yusuf also pleaded guilty to charges of planning as top ‘commandos’ of actual attacks in Somalia’s city of Mogadishu that has killed dozens.
Intelligence sources revealed that Ali Yasin Ahmed and Mohamed Yusuf were born in Somalia and became Swedish refugees until Swedish authorities began surveillance about Muslim recruits into terrorism. The Somali men consequently flew to Kenya in 2008, and their families filed reports with the police in Sweden to try and find them. They then proceeded to Somalia where they joined a Somali training camp where they quickly ascended to the ranks of commandos. They then proceeded to plan and launch attacks on Somali government troops in Mogadishu.
According to the intelligence reports, Madhi Hashi was born in Somalia and went alongside her family to Britain. Hashi was recruited into al Shabaab while on vacation in Egypt, proceeding to Somalia where he fought alongside Somalia’s Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahedeen, only to be arrested later on false allegations that he was a spy. His later release coincidentally joined him with Ahmed and Yusuf.
The 3 Somali men then decided to leave Somalia for Yemen but were intercepted in Djibouti by Djibouti authorities, with the US taking over the case in 2012 that led to the May 2015 court appearance.
Ali Yasin Ahmed, Mohamed Yusuf and Madhi Hashi could face 30 years up to life in prison if convicted.
