'We Have a Terror Recruiting Problem in Minnesota'

A yearlong FBI investigation into alleged ISIS-related activities resulted in the arrest of six Somali-American men in Minnesota and California yesterday, officials tell CNN. KSTP reports all hail from Minnesota, and it has the US attorney for the state, Andrew Luger, putting the situation in blunt terms: "We have a terror recruiting problem in Minnesota." But there isn't one master recruiter who can be brought down, he says; "this case demonstrates how difficult it is to put an end to recruiting here." KTSP reports three other Minnesotans have previously been charged with trying to aid ISIS, and the AP notes that since 2007, at least 22 men have headed to Somalia from the state to team up with al-Shabab.

Authorities say there was no threat to public safety, WCCO reports, with Luger confirming there was no indication that the men wanted to inflict any harm on their home state. He says they were hoping to get to Syria (three were actually stopped at an NYC airport in November, and allegedly lied when they were stopped, the AP notes) and have been charged with conspiracy to provide support to a terror organization. The AP lists the accused as Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 21; Adnan Abdihamid Farah, 19; Abdurahman Yasin Daud, 21; Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 19; Hanad Mustafe Musse, 19; and Guled Ali Omar, 20. (Meanwhile, American women may be being targeted as ISIS recruits.)