US national charged with attempting to join Somali group with links to Al-Qaeda

A 20-year-old from North Virginia has been arrested and charged with trying to join Somalia’s Shebab militants, says the US Justice Department. Zachary Adam Chesser was convicted on Wednesday in a criminal charge that he provided material support to Shebab, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

Shebab fighters during training in Mogadishu AFP/TOPSHOTS/STRINGER

Officials said Chesser sought to use his infant son as cover so no one would suspect he was travelling to Africa to join the Shebab, which earlier this month claimed suicide bombings that killed 76 people in Uganda.

Reuters

First interviewed by the FBI in May 2009 about jihadist Internet postings, Chesser was under surveillance when he tried to board a flight to Uganda with his son on July 10 at New York's JFK airport. Denied check-in and told he was on a no-fly list, the suspect
was then allowed to remain at large until his arrest on Wednesday.

"This case exposes the disturbing reality that extreme radicalization can happen anywhere, including Northern Virginia," said US Attorney Neil MacBride.

"This young man is accused of seeking to join the Shebab, a brutal terrorist organization with ties to Al-Qaeda. These allegations underscore the need for continued vigilance against home-grown terror threats."

A search of Chesser's house in June uncovered a journal in which he stated his intention to join the Shebab and detailed an earlier failed bid to reach Somalia, in November, via Kenya.

Following a spate of attacks or near misses - at the Fort Hood military base last year and in Times Square, New York in May - President Barack Obama's administration has had to refocus national security on home-grown extremists.

"We can't fight terrorists alone," FBI assistant director Shawn Henry said in a statement on Wednesday on Chesser's arrest. "Religious leaders of all faiths, family members and
particularly the younger members of our communities need to speak up and speak out against individuals who participate in actions like those alleged here."