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From MN suburbs, they set out to join ISIS

Laura Yuen , Mukhtar Ibrahim Sasha Aslanian
MPRnews

On May 13, 2013, Hanad Mohallim strutted to the playground across the street from his family’s two-story suburban home. Boredom, Mohallim said, compelled him to create a walking, talking video selfie.

“Just another day in the life of a gangsta in the ‘hood for me — Apple Valley,” he deadpanned. “I decided to make a little quick-ass video showing y’all … what life is like in the [expletive] projects.”

His clips on the video-sharing app Keek were silly, profane and not unusual for an American teen playing to a crowd on social media. Less than a year later, Mohallim was living a life far outside the norm.

On March 9, 2014, the 18-year-old took a plane from Minnesota to Turkey and from there made his way to the fighting in Syria, according to court documents.

Federal authorities say two other young men who once attended Burnsville High School with Mohallim tried to take the same path to Syria in hopes of joining the terrorist group ISIS.

But Abdullahi Yusuf, 18, and Hamza Ahmed, now 20, never caught their flights. Federal agents intercepted them last year at airports and charged them with conspiring to assist a foreign terrorist organization.

Called to Fight: Minnesota’s ISIS recruits

Public records, interviews with former classmates and relatives of the three young men, and a review of their musings on Twitter reveal their transformation from drifting suburban teenagers to potential recruits for a horrifically brutal terrorist movement.

Some of their own friends didn’t see it coming. Born to immigrant parents from East Africa, the three men embraced basketball and social media. They weren’t overtly devout and at times rebelled in the classroom.

Federal authorities believe roughly 15 young people have left Minnesota for Syria to join ISIS over the past year or so. At least five, including Mohallim of Apple Valley, are believed dead.

Read more:From MN suburbs, they set out to join ISIS

Source: MPR

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