Al-Shabab recruits fighters in the US; attacks Kenyan border towns

Somalis fear youths leaving US for terror group

Leaders of the nation's largest Somali community say some of their young men are still being enticed to join the terror group that has claimed responsibility for the deadly mall attack in Kenya, despite a concentrated effort to shut off what authorities call a "deadly pipeline" of men and money.

Six years have passed since Somali-American fighters began leaving Minnesota to become part of al-Shabab. Now the Somali community is dismayed over reports that a few of its own might have been involved in the violence at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

"One thing I know is the fear is growing," said Abdirizak Bihi, whose nephew was among at least six men from Minnesota who have died in Somalia. More are presumed dead.

Since 2007, at least 22 young men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabab, including two who did so last summer. Unconfirmed reports that two more left earlier this month have deepened concerns. Keep reading

Interpol issues alert for British terror widow

Interpol, acting on a Kenyan request, issued an arrest notice Thursday for Samantha Lewthwaite, the fugitive Briton whom news media have dubbed the "white widow."

Lewthwaite, 29, is a Muslim convert whose first husband participated in the 2005 London suicide bombings that killed 52 commuters on subways and a bus. Kenyan authorities want her in connection to a 2011 plot to bomb holiday resorts there.

Officials have not presented any evidence linking her to the terrorist attack on an upscale Nairobi shopping mall, and the Interpol notice did not mention it. But comments from Kenya's foreign minister that a British woman was involved led some U.K. news media to speculate that Lewthwaite participated in the attack, which killed scores of people.

The Interpol notice said Lewthwaite is wanted on charges of possessing explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony in December 2011. Keep reading

Militant group attacks Kenyan border towns

The Islamic extremist group that killed scores of people at a Nairobi mall has now attacked two Kenyan towns near the Somali border, killing three people. The leader of the Somali group affiliated with al-Qaida said the attacks will continue until Kenyan troops are withdrawn from Somalia.

The leader of al-Shabab said in a message that there is no way Kenya can "withstand a war of attrition inside your own country."

"Make your choice today and withdraw all your forces," said Ahmed Abdi Mohamed Godane, who goes by his nom de guerre Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, in a new statement posted on the Internet late Wednesday. "Otherwise be prepared for an abundance of blood that will be spilt in your country, economic downfall and displacement."

Al-Shabab said the Nairobi mall attack was not only directed at Kenya, but was also "a retribution against the Western states that supported the Kenyan invasion and are spilling the blood of innocent Muslims in order to pave the way for their mineral companies," according to the statement from Godane. Keep reading