Minnesota man charged with helping Al-Qaida

MINNEAPOLIS -- A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday charged a Minnesota man with conspiracy to provide material support to the Al-Qaida terrorist network. Authorities said the man acknowledged being at training camps in Afghanistan at the same time as Osama bin Laden.

Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 30, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was charged in an indictment returned Tuesday by a grand jury in Minneapolis.

The indictment alleges that from March 2000 until his arrest last month, Warsame conspired to provide material support and resources for bin Laden's terror network.

A related affidavit said Warsame admitted to FBI agents he was at training camps in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 at the same time as bin Laden. Neither the affidavit nor the indictment contained any other details about the alleged conspiracy.

"The charge against Warsame is a grim reminder that Al-Qaida, aided by agents and cells in this country, continues its shadowy efforts to destroy the lives and freedoms of the people in the United States," Attorney General John Ashcroft said.

Omar Jamal, a Twin Cities Somali advocate who has acted as a liaison to Warsame's family, described their reaction to the charge: "They are devastated. They are emotional. They cannot convey anything."

News reports have linked Warsame to terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Moussaoui also was arrested in Minnesota and now awaits trial in Virginia on federal conspiracy charges.

Federal officials have refused to address reports of connection between Warsame and Moussaoui, and their statement to the media Wednesday did not mention Moussaoui.

Moussaoui was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 at a Minnesota flight simulator school two years ago.

Warsame was a student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. His arrest and the secrecy have been a subject of concern in the local Somali community, which numbers an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 and is believed to be the largest in the United States.

The indictment was unsealed following an appearance by Warsame in federal court in New York on Wednesday. Warsame was held without bond pending his return to Minneapolis, prosecutors said.

Warsame was flown from Minneapolis to New York in late December, but it was not known why the move occurred.

Attorney Sam Talkin, who represented Warsame on Wednesday, said his client did not enter a plea, and will be arraigned in Minneapolis. He declined to detail the allegations against Warsame.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Karen Bailey said Warsame's Minneapolis court date has not been set. She said he was still being held in New York.