Dinah Lord

Another Lost Boy of Minneapolis bites the dust in Somalia

Sixth man reportedly dies in Somalia. 

Warning:  Jihadism is hazardous to your health.

A sixth Minnesota man is feared dead in Somalia after joining an Islamic extremist group there. But Troy Kastigar stood out from his fellow recruits, because the Minneapolis man was not Somali.

Kastigar, 28, was a Muslim convert who apparently had no personal ties to the lawless east African country.

Troy Kastigar's family received reports of his death within the past week, according to friends of the family. The circumstances of his reported death aren't clear, and the information could not be confirmed by the FBI.

Kastigar's involvement in Somalia is a puzzle in itself. He told his mother that he was going to Kenya when he left the Twin Cities last November.

More at the link.  Including this: 

Before he left for Somalia, he acquired a lengthy rap sheet, filled with misdemeanors ranging from credit card fraud to driving after his license was revoked.

Somali community members believe Kastigar was part of the last wave of Minnesota men who joined the violent militia al-Shabaab in Somalia. While some of the 20 or so men say they left to defend their homeland in a bloody civil war, Katigar's motivations are less clear.

His motivations are less clear?  How clear does it have to get for these people?  He was a MUSLIM and THAT was the only motivation he needed to be a murdering thug.

Somalia: Was President right to shake Hillary Clinton's hand?

Oh brother, here we go again with Islam's 'don't touch the wimmen' nonsense.

From Somaliweyn:  Was President right to shake Mrs. Clinton's hand?

"According to the wholesome Islamic religion Muslims of different gender are not allowed to shake hands or embrace one another, unless they are people who cannot marry each other in terms of the Sharia law, for instance a mother can shake hand give a kiss or hug her son, likewise a boy can do the same to his biological sister, mother, his maternal and paternal aunts.
...

There was scandal coming out among the different sectors of the Somali communities whether President Shariff Sheikh Ahmed was right to shook hand on Wednesday the 5th of August 2009 with the US secretary of state Mrs. Hillary Clinton in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The matter was put forwards to the advanced Muslim scholars and this is what they had to say:

The President was perfectly right to shake hand with Mrs. Hillary Clinton simply because during the empire of Caliph Omar May blessing of Allah be upon him, there was a battle between the Eastern Roman empire and the Muslims in the sacred land of Shaam, and in the battle a number Muslim martyrs including the esteemed follower of Prophet Mohammed Peace Be Upon Him Abdullah Ibnu Hudeyfa were caught by the Christians and taken to the king of the Christian empire..."

(I won't bore you with the details and there's more Islamogobbledygook on why it was okay to shake Hillary's hand at the link, including the part of the story where evil Christians boil Muslims in hot oil.  P.S.  I call bull shi& on this story.)

Somalia: US to double arms, ammunition aid to region

While I'm kind of happy to see the Obama administration taking this action.   (If only they could do something about that nasty Somali Sharia law.  Just saying.)   But can you imagine the hue and cry that would be raised by the moonbats if this had happened during the Bush administration?  Now that Obama is in charge?  There's nary a peep. 

From The Vancouver Sun:

The United States plans to double the amount of arms and ammunition it is providing Somalia's transitional government, a State Department official said Thursday, signalling deeper U. S. involvement in the conflict there.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plan was to double supplies of arms and ammunition to 80 tonnes from 40.

The official also said Somalis were receiving military training in Djibouti, where the U. S. military has a base covering the Horn of Africa.

Earlier, in Nairobi, U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged "very strong support" for Somalia's transition federal government in a meeting with its president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Clinton also warned Eritrea to stop supporting Al-Shebab, an al-Qaida inspired Islamic militant group fighting the transitional government for control of the impoverished east African country.

Separately, U. S. President Barack Obama's chief counter-terrorism adviser expressed concern about the group's "tentacles" outside the region, including the United States, noting that some Somalis with U. S. citizenship have returned there to fight.

o rly?

More on Eritrea's role in the conflict...

As it boosts aid to Somalia's weak interim government to fight an al-Qaida-linked Islamist militia, the Obama administration is grasping for ways to cut off what it says is one of the militant group's main supply lines: the tiny Red Sea state of Eritrea.

The enigmatic and authorization nation has emerged as a principle player in the conflict in lawless Somalia, where the enfeebled government is struggling for survival against the extremist al-Shabab faction.

U.S., U.N. and other investigators say the Eritrean government is funneling money, weapons and other supplies to al-Shabab, which Western intelligence agencies regard as a growing regional and international threat.

More fun facts about Eritrea...

The Lost Boys of Minnesota: FBI raids travel agency on trail of Somali Jihadis

From VOA: 

(And I'm betting there's more to this story than 2 young men who wanted to travel to Somalia.)

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation searched the office of a Minnesota travel agency this week for clues to the disappearance of 20 Somali-American men believed to be fighting in Somalia's civil war.

Omar Jamal, spokesman for the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, says the owner of Amana Travel was approached several months ago by two young men who wanted to travel to Somalia. Jamal says the owner, Ali Mohamud, refused to book the tickets when he learned the young men's parents were unaware of their plans.
...

Amana Travel owner Mohamud is facing separate charges of fraud and felony theft, for allegedly taking money for tickets he never bought and pocketing the refunds of tickets he canceled.

Bingo!  Looks like the trail is leading back to Abubakar As Siddique Mosque - doesn't it always?

He said the woman, who knew the young men from her work at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, advised him to return their passports to them. He said he did — and never dealt with them again.

The young men, Mustafa Ali Salat and Mohamed Hassan, found a way to go to Somalia anyway later in 2008, family and community members say.  "Somehow, eventually, they ended up leaving," said Omar Jamal, executive director of Somali Justice Advocacy Center. "We don't know how that happened."

More on the fraud charges faced by the travel agency's owner:

Information about the search warrant at the travel agency emerged after Mohamud was arrested by local police in a separate matter. Mohamud is charged with theft by swindle. Authorities say he took money from about a dozen clients and didn't issue valid travel tickets or refund payments. He made his first court appearance Friday in Hennepin County and was released with certain conditions, including the surrender of his passport. No plea was entered.

Mohamud, who spoke to the AP after his release from jail, said he is confused and worried by the swindling allegations, saying some of the alleged victims have already been issued tickets.

Not so fast there, bucko.

Some customers reported that they didn't realize Amana had canceled their trips, or that the tickets were bogus, until they arrived at the airport ready to board their flights.

KAALtv.com video on the arrest can be found here.  It looks like Amana's owner has trouble with his landlord too - he's being sued for the non-payment of $5000 in eviction charges.   What a fine, upstanding citizen.

And according to KSTPtv.com Minneapolis police believe he may be involved in additional crimes:

"We believe he may have been involved in additional crimes," Minneapolis Police Lt. Brad Sporny told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

Authorities want any businesses that may also be victims of Mohamud to call the Minneapolis Police Department at (612) 673-2941.

And in case you missed it (like I did when I was MIA):  FBI searches Rochester homes in Somali probe

Sharia Flu: It's spreading.

It's now the official law of the land in Somalia (oxymoronic, I know.)

The president of Somalia's interim government, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, has officially signed Shari'ah into law as the Horn of Africa country's national legislation, Radio Garowe reports.

President Sheikh Sharif told a press conference at the Villa Somalia presidential compound on Wednesday afternoon that he is unaware of why armed groups oppose the law.

About those 'armed groups'?  They are now being joined by government troops putting Somalia on the verge of al-Qaeda takeover.

Meanwhile, just across the Gulf of Aden:  Al Qaeda calls for Islamic rule after Yemen violence

Al Qaeda on Wednesday called for Islamic rule in Yemen and vowed to retaliate for what it said was the killing of civilians in clashes between police and locals in the south, where secessionist sentiment is strong.

The country is trying to shake off an image of violence and lawlessness to promote tourism and foreign investment. It is battling Al Qaeda, separatist calls in the south and Shia rebels in the north. “The time for the rule of Islam has come so that you could bask in the justice and tolerance it brings,”

LOL about that basking "in justice and tolerance that Sharia brings"  line.

Speaking of Somalia's foreign fighters and the lost boys of Minneapolis

<--A simple Islamic arch in silhouette is near the grave where Shirwa Ahmed is buried at the Garden of Eden Cemetery in Burnsville, Minnesota.


The Star Tribune pulls out all the stops to poison the grand jury pool investigating the Lost Boys of Minneapolis with this article on the one that blew himself up outside the Ethiopian Embassy in Hargeisa.

sniff-sniff.  Poor misunderstood youth.  (Tell that to the families of the 20 people he killed.) 

At midmorning on Oct. 29, 2008, a car packed with explosives smashed through the doors of the Ethiopian Embassy in Hargeisa, capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland, killing 20 people. At the same time, other suicide bombers hit targets across northern Somalia, including two bomb-filled vehicles that plowed into an intelligence headquarters in the port town of Bosasso.

In all, 28 people were killed and dozens more injured. Within hours, Somali officials asked the FBI to send teams to comb the blast sites.

In Bosasso, investigators were surprised to discover the fragmented remains of an American.

They had found what was left of Shirwa Ahmed.

Read it all.

Somali Islamist leader acknowledges 'foreign fighters'.

Are they from Minneapolis, I wonder?

From AFP:

Somalia's hardline Islamist rebels admitted Tuesday receiving backing from foreign fighters in recent battles against government troops.

"Those who say our Muslim brothers are foreigners are wrong. They came to assist their brothers in Somalia," Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow, a senior Shebab official said without specifying the fighters' nationalities or number.

A senior official in the embattled government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed confirmed the presence of foreign fighters on Somali territory.  "Our country is at war with foreign mercenaries who are destabilising Somalia," said the official on condition of anonymity.

"We will fight them and defeat them. We are also urging the Somali people to support the government," he added.

But the Shebab official said: "Some of them have been martyred, others were injured while the rest are still ready to fight for the sake of their Muslim brothers."

The top UN envoy for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah called in a statement for an end to the violence which be blamed on "irresponsible elements backed by foreigners ... in an attempt to seize power by force".

The latest fighting in Mogadishu that killed at least 41 people, was among the heaviest in months. The Shebab launched attacks on government troops in February, shortly after Ahmed was elected.

The hardliners have rejected talks with Ahmed's government, even after it endorsed plans to introduce Islamic law, a key demand of the opposition militants.

(Sound familiar?  Doesn't this sound like what happened in the Swat valley of Pakistan?  Hmm?  File this under:  You can Never Do Enough to Appease these Bastards.)

An excellent question about the Somali pirates and all that ransom dough.

Where the hell are they keeping it?  Back in November, Kenya's Foreign Minister estimated the amount for 2008 alone to be at $150 million.  (I've seen the $100 million number thrown around, too.)  Anyway you slice it, that's a lot of jack to keep lying around. 

From Media Monitors Network.

Where in Somalia are these pirates hiding the $100 million, which is in cash, not bank drafts? On the one hand, they are free to do as they please with the money because they have no fear of being arrested because there is no government to impose law and order. On the other hand, Somalia has no banks, so if the pirates have made deposits, in which country or countries are the banks?

It begs answering, because if you believe this piece - the 'wafer-thin banditos' are spending $500,000 out of every million on food, snacks and cigarettes.

According to Farah Ismael Eid, a pirate who is serving a 15-year term In Somalia´s notorious Mandera prison, the money he and his pals collected was divided thus: 30% for government officials 20% for the bosses, 20% for necessities like guns, food and cigarettes, 30% for the gunmen.

That is a lot of ciggies folks. If one is to believe these figures that means pirates spend $500,000 out of every million-ransom dollars on snacks, smokes and guns. One assumes these wafer thin bandidos are not big eaters, and an AK-47 can be bought in this part of East Africa for under $100 bucks. This means Somali pirates are puffing their way through almost half a million dollars in cigarettes every week.

But if you believe this piece - - the piracy operations are run like a classic MBA school exercise and  Dinah's here to tell you there's no way those types are not going to earn the float off of $100 mil. 

What?  What's that you say?  The pirates' roughly $250,000 worth of seed capital is provided from a successful Somali outside of the country through the Hawala money laundering system?  Well, what do you know.  (Have a little time to kill?  You can listen to the NPR's Money Planet podcast on the subject referencing the role of Hawala in pirate financing here.  Starts at the 10:00 minute mark.)

Gee, do you think that is the way that the money is getting out of the country, too? 

Um, yes. 

In other pirate news (slightly tardy - but better late than never)  US hands over 3 dead pirates to Somalian police.

And just to maintain my personal record of the Islamist - Pirate linkage.  (Because the pirate attacks continue apace and you know the question is going to come up again and again.)

Lost boys of Minneapolis: Homeys being called to testify in front of grand jury.

Their radical mosque is directing them to CAIR - gee, what a surprise that is. 

From KARE11.  (tip of the turban to FReeper ButThreeLeftsDo)

Some local Somalis have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury as authorities continue to investigate whether some young Somali-American men were radicalized here and recruited to fight with terror groups in their homeland.

Federal authorities won't confirm the grand jury investigation but the subpoenas -- as well as questions by FBI agents and customs officials -- have unnerved some in the community. Local Somalis have felt vulnerable since officials began looking into why these young men left, and why one carried out a suicide bombing in Somalia last fall.

Omar Hurre, director of Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, the largest mosque in Minnesota, said about 20 young Somalis have come to him in the last few months, asking for advice about grand jury subpoenas.

"Most of them just come to me and say, 'Hey, I got this. What should I do?"' he said. "Some of them are even crying when they come to me and confused and scared because they think when they get a visit from any law enforcement agency ... that maybe they did something wrong."

Nah.  They couldn't have done anything wrong, could they???  Keep reading, pilgrims.

Somali 'insurgents' fire mortars at visiting US Congressman

Somali 'Insurgents' fire mortars at visiting US Congressman. 

(Riddle me this, Batman.  How exactly did Reuters know that Payne was the one being targeted in the attack???  It just sounds like a stretch to me.)

Somali insurgents fired mortars towards U.S. congressman Donald Payne as he left the Somali capital on a rare visit by a U.S. politician to the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, police said. "One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left and no one was hurt," Abukar Hassan, a police officer at Mogadishu airport, told Reuters.

Congressman Donald Payne -NJ  --->