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Called to Fight
Laura Yuen
St. Paul, Minn.

Man pleads guilty to lying to FBI in al-Shabab probe

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A Minneapolis truck driver and father of three is the latest person to be implicated in the federal investigation into al-Shabab recruitment in the Twin Cities.

• Related: Mosques seek new ways to end terror recruiting
• Full coverage: Called to Fight

Mahdi Hussein Furreh pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in St. Paul to lying to the FBI. He left Minnesota in March of last year for Nairobi, Kenya.

According to his indictment, Furreh, 31, communicated with a fugitive who the federal government believes helped radicalize some of the men recruited for the terror group al-Shabab.

That man, Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, left the Twin Cities in 2009 and was later indicted on terrorism charges. Faarax is still believed to be in the Horn of Africa.

Furreh admitted he lied to the FBI when he told agents he did not have any contact with Faraax, though he called him repeatedly before and after arriving in Kenya.

Furreh faces up to eight years in prison. He will be sentenced in February.