Al Shabab 101: What is the Somali terrorist group?

Along with places like Lewiston, Me., and suburban Seattle, Wash., the Minneapolis area has one of the largest Somali populations in the United States, made up almost entirely of refugees escaping decades of civil war and, in some cases, radical Islamic ideology. Al Shabab and its allies have recruited in the Somali-American community; more than 20 young Somali-Americans are known to have gone to join the insurgency in East Africa in the past decade, and the number is likely much higher. One man from Minneapolis involved in a 2008 attack was believed to be the first American suicide bomber. Investigators believe Somali-Americans may have also been among the attackers of the Kenyan mall, leading counterterrorism officials to fear that Al Shabab may one day expand into more complex terror plots beyond its largely localized interests in East Africa.