Sweden convicts 2 Somali muslims for terror plot

Sweden convicts 2 Somali muslims for terror plot

2010-12-09 22:23:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (BNO NEW) — Two al-Shabab members were sentenced by a Swedish court on Wednesday for charges related to a terrorist attack plot, the court said Thursday.

Mohamoud Jama, 22, and Bille Ilias Mohamed, 26, Swedish citizens of Somali origin, were arrested in May and June in Gothenburg and Stockholm after an investigation into terrorist activity by the Swedish police. During the trial, both were found guilty of plotting suicide attacks in Somalia.

"The prosecutor proved that the accused had taken it upon themselves and decided with the Somali islamist militia al-Shabaab to commit terrorist crimes in the form of suicide attacks," the court said.

Somalia has not had a solid government since warlords overthrew long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, while al-Shabaab, which also has links with al-Qaeda, has maintained control over most of the country's capital, Mogadishu.

As violence continues to spread throughout the African country, almost 68,000 Somalis have fled this year to other countries in the region. As of the end of August, there were more than 614,000 Somali refugees and over 1.4 million displaced within the country.

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