Suspect tied to African, Yemen militants pleads guilty to U.S. charges

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Suspect tied to African, Yemen militants pleads guilty to U.S. charges

By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON | Mon Mar 25, 2013 5:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - A Somali man who was a high-level liaison between al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen and later became a U.S. government informant and witness has pleaded guilty to multiple U.S. terrorism-related charges, the Justice Department said on Monday.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed a guilty plea by Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame to nine U.S. criminal charges. They alleged he once commanded hundreds of fighters for the Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab.

Law enforcement and legal sources said Warsame is one of the most important militants connected to Somali-based al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab and Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to be captured by U.S. forces and to agree to become a U.S. informant.

Information provided to U.S. authorities by Warsame has resulted in the capture or arrest of other suspected al Qaeda militants from East Africa, lawyers familiar with recent prosecutions brought by U.S. authorities said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-usa-somalia-militant-idUSBRE92O0RF20130325

[Eugene]

1. Somali national held aboard Navy ship pleaded guilty, U.S. officials say

Source: Washington Post

Somali national held aboard Navy ship pleaded guilty, U.S. officials say

By Sari Horwitz, Monday, March 25, 1:57 PM

A Somali national indicted on federal terrorism charges pleaded guilty nearly a year and a half ago, Justice Department officials announced Monday, disclosing a previously secret agreement with prosecutors.

Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was captured in the Gulf of Aden by the U.S. military in April 2011 and held for questioning aboard a U.S. Navy ship for more than two months. He was charged with providing material support to the Islamist militant group al-Shabab and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, conspiring to provide explosives training and committing other offenses.

He pleaded guilty in December 2011 in New York, according to the plea agreement released Monday. As part of the deal, Warsame agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities and Justice Department officials agreed to take steps to try to ensure the safety of his family.

Officials touted the case as a counterterrorism success that blended civilian and military options in an incident involving a foreign militant.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/somali-national-held-aboard-navy-ship-pleaded-guilty-us-officials-say/2013/03/25/6c89aff2-956b-11e2-b6f0-a5150a247b6a_story.html