More than 40 Americans have been recruited by al-Shabaab and gone to Somalia to join the fight, and at least 15 of them have been killed, Republican Rep. Peter King said. The figures are based on his committee’s investigation into the threat.
The findings come during the third in a series of hearings on the threat of Islamic radicalisation in the United States. Some feel the Republicans are unfairly singling out Muslims. They say focusing too closely on Islam and the religious motives of those who have attempted terror attacks threatens to alienate an entire community.
The majority of the recent terror plots against the U.S. have involved people espousing a radical and violent view of Islam.
The US government has said at least 21 people are believed to have travelled from Minnesota to Somalia to join the terror group, which began as a push to expel Ethiopian soldiers, and at least four young Americans have been confirmed dead. Others are feared dead.
Al-Shabaab has expanded its focus over the years, and it has aligned itself with other anti-Western terror groups.
The top Democrat on the committee, however, said the threat posed by al-Shabaab to the US has been overstated.
“Al-Shabaab does not appear to present any danger to this homeland,” said Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson.
Testifying at the hearing, former assistant US attorney in Minnesota, W Anders Folk said a significant threat is posed by men and women who leave the US to be trained by terror organisations, and adopt an interpretation of Islam that justifies violence, then return to the US.