A Somali terror group has allegedly recruited more than 20 young men from Minnesota to fight against the Ethopian army.
Details of how a carefully-organised Islamist cell raised money, created fake itineraries and held secret meetings have emerged ahead of the trial of one suspected leader.
Omer Abdi Mohamed, 26, is one of 18 men charged with recruiting young Somalis from Minneapolis to join terror group al-Shabab, which has links to Al Qaeda.
Recruitment: Prosecutors say a Minnesota cell arranged to send local Somalis to fight for the Al Qaeda-inspired al-Shabab group
Since 2007, at least 21 men have left Minnesota for Somalia, where they arrived at safehouses and were given AK-47s and weapons training, court documents claim, before fighting Ethiopian troops.
Back in Minnesota, members of the cell raised money for their trip by duping the Somali community into thinking the cash was to give aid to their home country.
Mohamed never travelled to Somalia, but he is accused of helping others who did. His lawyer has dismissed the allegations as ridiculous.
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