Kamal Said Hassan thought going to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab would be a great "adventure."

The Plymouth man endured the militant group's training, learned to use an array of weapons and had a speaking role in a recruiting video produced by al-Shabaab's propaganda unit.

But after surviving his first ambush in the brush, in which he never even squeezed off a round from his AK-47 assault rifle, Hassan decided he'd had enough adventure. He left the group and, within weeks, was telling the FBI what he'd done.

Hassan, 27, a self-described "foot soldier" for al-Shabaab, provided riveting testimony Wednesday, Oct. 10, in the terror-conspiracy trial of Mahamud Said Omar, 46, of Minneapolis.

Mahamud Said Omar, 46, a former janitor at a Minneapolis mosque, is on trial in federal court on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to
Mahamud Said Omar, 46, a former janitor at a Minneapolis mosque, is on trial in federal court on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to the terrorist group al-Shabaab. (Photo courtesy of the Omar family)
He gave an insider's view of the training, tactics and personnel al-Shabaab used in its guerrilla war against the Ethiopian troops then in Somalia.

But ultimately, the government witness said little that incriminated the man on trial in Minneapolis. In more than 5 1/2 hours of questioning by a prosecutor Wednesday and over an hour of testimony the day before, Hassan mentioned Omar a handful of times.

And when the prosecutor asked him if Omar was part of a small and secretive group of men who comprised the alleged conspiracy, he replied, "No, sir, I never saw him in any of the meetings."

He said he knew the defendant because Omar worked part time as a janitor at the Minneapolis mosque that Hassan attended.


He said another man told him that Omar had provided some money to buy weapons.

He said that in a single brief phone conversation, Omar told him he was going to the al-Shabaab training camp. Omar never went.

Also, after Hassan began cooperating with the FBI, one of his former al-Shabaab comrades called him from Somalia and claimed Omar had told someone that Hassan's father had been picked up by the FBI. (He hadn't been.)

Hassan told jurors that news worried al-Shabaab because "arresting my parents would lead to my arrest" -- and they feared his arrest would lead to charges against others.

Under the name "Operation Rhino," the FBI investigated the exodus of almost two dozen men from the Twin Cities to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab. Agents came to call the men "the travelers." Hassan was the first one charged in February 2009; the probe has since resulted in charges against 18 men.

Omar is the only one who has taken his case to trial.

The government alleges the $800-a-month janitor was part of a "pipeline" that fed local men to al-Shabaab. Omar has maintained his innocence. His defense lawyers say he lacked the financial or organizational wherewithal to be part of a conspiracy.

The State Department's 2008 designation of al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization made it a crime to aid the group.

Omar faces three counts of conspiracy and two counts of aiding terrorism. So far in the government's case, witnesses have testified that Omar provided up to $500 in "pocket money" for some "travelers," and that he visited an al-Shabaab safe house in Somalia.

There, jurors heard, he provided $1,000 to buy weapons and gave some money for upkeep of the house.

Hassan is the third and last "traveler" called by prosecutors. Of the three, his testimony has seemed the most detailed and captivating, largely because he spent more time with al-Shabaab than the other two.

During his testimony, prosecutors showed snippets from al-Shabaab videos that included Hollywood-style opening credits. One was a propaganda film shot at the training camp Hassan helped build.

Another was of an ambush that a squad of al-Shabaab fighters set up for some Ethiopian troops, parts of which had a soundtrack featuring rap lyrics that some of the group's leaders wrote.

"Mortar by mortar/Shell by shell/I'm only going to stop when/I've sent them to hell," were sample lyrics.

Hassan testified that he was part of the ambush, but never fired his weapon. He said that he didn't know if any Ethiopian troops were killed or wounded, but that an al-Shabaab soldier was killed.

Al-Shabaab rose to power after a group named the Islamic Courts Union dissolved. The two had worked together to seize the capital of Mogadishu. The country's U.N.-backed transitional government called in troops from neighboring Ethiopia to retake the capital and other regions of the country under al-Shabaab control.

Many in Somalia saw the Ethiopians as invaders, and al-Shabaab used that sentiment to recruit soldiers. It seeks to oust Somalia's new government and impose its own brand of militant Islamic theocracy on the East African country.

Hassan told jurors that an al-Shabaab leader in Somalia told the recruits the group's aim was to conquer Somalia's neighbors and keep going "all the way to Jerusalem."

Justice Department attorney William Narus had called Hassan to the stand late Tuesday, and as the witness took the stand at the start of Wednesday's court session, Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis seemed to express some unease about vagueness in the man's testimony the day before.

Hassan had told jurors about planning meetings he and other men had had in Minneapolis. He reeled off names of those at the meetings and mentioned where they took place, but gave few other details.

"I'd like to know, and I think the jury has a right to know, what happened at those meetings," the judge told him. Davis also reminded the witness -- who has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case -- that he would be the judge who sentenced him.

When Hassan began to say that some meetings were held secretly at a local mosque, Davis interrupted him.

"I know where they're at," the judge said. "I'd like to know what happened at those meetings. You're going to have to tell me what happened at those meetings."

Hassan began a reply. "At one of the first meetings. ..."

"This is not like going down to Valleyfair," Davis interrupted again, referring to the Shakopee amusement park. "How did you get convinced to join?"

Hassan's family left Somalia in 1991, the year a coup left the country without a government. He explained that during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2007 (from mid-September to mid-October that year) a group of men began meeting to discuss fighting the Ethiopians.

He said the leaders of the group appealed to his religious and nationalistic sides. Davis was still unconvinced how speeches in a meeting in Minneapolis could persuade a man with a junior-college education to travel to Somalia to kill.

"Tell me how you can make a leap from talking to somebody to going over and killing somebody," the judge asked.

Hassan began answering and then said, "Your honor, I can't explain."

"Well, you're going to have to tell me," the judge told him.

The witness said Ahmed told him it was his duty to fight "and I decided to go."

"And kill," the judge said.

Hassan replied that he knew he'd be going to Somalia and would be involved in "fights and battles."

"And kill," the judge pressed.

"Yes, your honor."

Hassan said it wasn't just one conversation that persuaded him to go.

"I thought it was going to be an adventure, traveling around Somalia," when Narus resumed his questioning. "It felt like it would be nice to go back and see the country."

Hassan was charged in February 2009 with providing material support to terrorists, providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, and making false statements to federal agents.

A week later, in a plea deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to the false-statements charge; the other two charges were dropped. He has been in jail awaiting sentencing since then.

Of the 17 "Rhino" defendants other than Omar, seven have entered guilty pleas, eight are considered fugitives, one is confirmed dead and another is believed to be dead.

Hassan's testimony continues Thursday.

David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.


To see the al-Shabaab video, go to TwinCities.com.