506060
A 20-year-old man accused of providing material support to al Shabaab militant group that claimed responsibility for the July 11 bomb attacks here has been arrested in New York, US authorities announced on Wednesday. He was arrested as he tried to board a plane to Uganda on July 10, a day before the suicide bombers struck in Kampala, killing 76 people.
Information posted on the Federal Bureau of Investigations website indicates that Zachary Adam Chesser alias Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, in an affidavit filed in court told federal agents he attempted on two occasions to travel to Somalia to join al Shabaab as a “foreign fighter”.
His communication
Originally from Fairfax County in Virginia, Chesser, in a series of interviews with federal law enforcement agencies, allegedly discussed in detail how he maintained several online profiles dedicated to extremist jihad propaganda.
These profiles, court affidavits indicate, were allegedly used by Chesser to post online pro-jihad messages and videos, including an article detailing the pre-requisites involved in living for jihad.
Investigators say Chesser, a follower of jihadist steps, tried to travel with his toddler son as a “cover” to avoid detection. It has emerged that after the Uganda errand, the man planned to connect to Somalia, the home of al Shabaab that the United States government designated in February 2008 as a terrorist group.
“This case exposes the disturbing reality that extreme radicalization can happen anywhere, including Northern Virginia,” said Eastern District of Virginia attorney Niel MacBride.
“This young man is accused of seeking to join al Shabaab, a brutal terrorist organisation with ties to al Qaeda. These allegations underscore the need for continued vigilance against homegrown terror threats.”
Chaos in Mogadishu
Last night, wire news agencies reported that the al Shabaab had besieged the Presidential Villa in Mogadishu, forcing African Union peacekeepers there to shell indiscriminately into the capital’s residential neighbourhood.
About a fortnight ago, an unnamed senior Department of State official, in a background briefing to journalists in Washington D.C., said al Shabaab was recruiting from American soil and expanding operation bases in East Africa and Arab Peninsula.
The official, without giving specifics, said: “I think there have been a number of instances over the past year where individuals have left the United States and travelled to Somalia.”
Ugandan authorities last night welcomed the arrest of Chesser as a significant breakthrough in combating global terrorism. “I am glad about the arrest,” the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, said shortly after returning from Nairobi. “That shows there is no way one can fight terrorism without collaboration and coordination with sister security agencies of other countries since terrorists are global themselves.”
He said since the attacks, Uganda has received notable cooperation and support from both regional neighbours and the West, which he said should be sustained to stem terrorist onslaughts.
“Uganda isn’t alone in this fight,” he said, “Africa and the world is against these evil forces. So people should not be despondent and instead rise to the occasion.”
The IGP was due last night to host a number of foreign intelligence agents for dinner at a hotel in Kampala to thank them for their assistance as some prepared to pack their bags to fly back home today.
Yesterday, police set free some 12 suspects, eight of them Pakistani nationals who had been detained over the July 11 bomb blasts.