Minneapolis Somalis fear more arrests

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Tension is rising in the Minneapolis Somali community as residents await word of more terrorism-related indictments and arrests, an attorney says.

Minneapolis lawyer Stephen Smith, who says he has talked to as many as 20 Somali men worried about possible charges, contends anxieties have risen in the wake of guilty pleas by three local men who confessed to traveling to Somalia to fight for Islamic fundamentalist groups deemed to have ties to al-Qaida, The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Tuesday.

Smith, who said one of clients has testified before an ongoing grand jury probe, told the newspaper, "I do know that (FBI) agents are still out there still contacting people and trying to conduct interviews. It's going to go on for awhile."

FBI agent E.K. Wilson in Minneapolis wouldn't talk about specifics, but indicated to the Star Tribune he believed new indictments may be coming soon, adding that the investigation is far from over.

Investigators say that up to 20 men of Somali descent have left Minnesota to return to their homeland to fight, some for al-Shabaab, a group labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.