A Minneapolis man who allegedly contacted a terrorism suspect who's wanted in Minnesota for his ties to the Al-Shabab extremist group has been charged with lying to the FBI.
Mahdi Hussein Furreh, 31, was indicted in federal court in Minnesota on one count of making a false statement. According to the indictment, Furreh lied to the FBI in January when he denied knowing anyone by the name of "Adaway."
Authorities say that, in fact, Furreh knew Adaway was a nickname for Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, a Minnesota man who is at large and accused of encouraging local Somalis to return to their homeland and join Al-Shabab.
The indictment says Furreh went to Kenya in March 2013 and repeatedly contacted Faarax by telephone both before and during his trip. Furreh is expected to plead guilty Friday.
The case stems from a 2009 case surrounding the investigation of young Somali men from Minnesota who fled the country to fight with the terrorist group back in Somalia. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis declined to comment on the case Thursday.
Staff and wire reports
