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US court convicts two women of financing Al-Shabaab

Storyline:National News, Security
Somali government soldiers secure the scene of an attack on a restaurant by the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
Somali government soldiers secure the scene of an attack on a restaurant by the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Two women of Somali origin have been convicted by a US court and could face a 15 year jail term in a sentence to be delivered in January for their involvement in financing Al-Shabaab group in Kenya and Somalia.

The court found Muna Osma Jama, 36 and Hinda Osman Dhirane, 46 guilty of organizing a cell identified as Group of Fifteen women drawn from eight countries to finance the East African based militant group’s operations and safe houses in Somalia and Kenya.

“These women funneled money to a terrorist organization which was conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia,” U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said in a written statement.

The Group of Fifteen included women from Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as Minneapolis, according to evidence at trial.

The two women were arrested in 2014 along with another woman Farhia Hassan who was nabbed in Netherlands.

Jama and Dhirane were each convicted of conspiracy and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and face a maximum of 15 years in prison when they are sentenced in January.