2 Minn. men each sentenced to 3 years in prison for briefly joining Somali terror group
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This combination of undated photos show Somali nationals, from left, Mahamud Said Omar, Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, Salah Osman Ahmed, and Omer Abdi Mohamed. Nine people convicted in a government investigation of terror recruitment and financing for an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia are to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. Authorities say more than 20 young men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabab since 2007(AP Photo/file) (The Associated Press)
Two men who left Minnesota to join a terrorist group in Somalia have each been sentenced to three years in prison.
Abdifatah Yusuf Isse and Salah Osman Ahmed both traveled to Somalia in 2007 and spent about a week in an al-Shabab training camp. They found a way to leave the camp once they learned what al-Shabab was all about.
They each pleaded guilty in 2009 to one count of providing material support to a terrorist group. They each faced a maximum of 15 years in prison. But prosecutors asked for sentences of around six to seven years because both cooperated with the investigation into terror recruiting in Minnesota.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two other men convicted in the case are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Michael Davis in Minneapolis.