More than 40 Americans have been recruited and radicalised by Al Qaeda-linked terrorists in Somalia and have gone there to fight, it emerged today.
The U.S. government has said at least 21 Americans are believed to have travelled to Somalia to join the terror group al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab has expanded its focus over the years and has aligned itself with other anti-Western terror groups, including Al Qaeda.
Originally, it formed as a group aimed at expelling Ethiopian soldiers but has since shifted its focus against the West.
Republican congressman Peter King - chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee - will reveal the findings of a committee investigation today during a third hearing in a series on Muslim radicalisation in the U.S.
The committee also found that more than 20 Canadians had also been recruited and radicalised and joined the conflict in the African country.
Canadian police have said several Somali youths from the Toronto area were suspected of having travelled to Somalia to join the group.
In his prepared opening remarks, Mr King said al-Shabaab is 'engaging in an ongoing, successful effort to recruit and radicalise dozens of Muslim-American jihadis, who pose a direct threat to the U.S.'.
Mr King said the group was not just a Somali problem - the organisation has a large cadre of American jihadis and ties to Al Qaeda, particularly the terror group's Yemen branch.
He said: 'We must face the reality that al-Shabaab is a growing threat to our homeland.'
Mr King has been criticised for unfairly singling out Muslims in a series of hearings over the past few months on Islamic radicalisation in the U.S.
Some of those who oppose these hearings have said the committee should also focus on the threat from other areas, including right-wing extremism in the U.S.
Zachary Chesser, 21, of Bristow, Virginia, was jailed for 25 years in February after pleading guilty to supporting al-Shabab and posting online threats against the creators of South Park.
The college drop-out achieved notoriety on the internet under the name Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee when he warned South Park creators they risked death for mocking Islam.
He urged people to leave suspicious packages in public to desensitise authorities to a real bomb threat and gave instructions on raising children who would grow up to be Al Qaeda members.
He twice tried to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabab, but was stopped after his mother-in-law hid his wife's passport and he was then put on a no-fly list.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
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