Somalia suicide bomber may be from Seattle

Federal investigators are looking into reports that one of the men who detonated a truck bomb in Mogadishu last week that killed 21 peacekeepers was a Somali refugee who had lived in Seattle as recently as 2007.

Two federal law enforcement sources, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FBI in Seattle received information last week that indicated that one of the suicide bombers was from Seattle. "We've been looking into it ever since," said one of the sources.

One of the sources, a senior federal law enforcement official, said the FBI is actively investigating whether terrorist groups are recruiting in Seattle's Somali community, one of the largest in the country.

On Tuesday, the radical Islamic Web site www.Dayniile.com reported that at least one of the bombers was a Somali-American who left the United States two years ago, according to a CNN report.

The FBI has already acknowledged that as many as 20 young men have disappeared from the Somali community in Minneapolis over the past two years, many believed to be recruited by people affiliated with the Islamic terrorist group, Al-Shabaab.

At least three Minneapolis men have turned up dead in Somalia, including 27-year-old Shirwa Ahmed, who blew up himself and 29 others in a suicide bombing last fall. It is believed to be the first suicide bombing carried out by a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In July, a 25-year-old graduate of Seattle's Roosevelt High School, AbdifatahYusuf Isse, pleaded guilty in Minnesota to terrorism-related charges in connection with the recruitment efforts in Minnesota. His attorney said in court filings that Isse was being recruited to be a suicide bomber.

Last week, suicide bombers drove vehicles with United Nations markings into the headquarters of an African Union peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu, Somalia. The vehicles blew up inside the compound, killing at least 21 people, the mission said. News reports state that the bombers spoke English.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com