Washington: The chairman of the House of Homeland Security committee says more than 40 Americans have been recruited and radicalized by Al Qaida-linked terrorists in Somalia and have gone to the war-torn country to fight.
U.S. counterterrorism officials have not confirmed the high numbers of Americans joining the Somali terror organization, al-Shabab.
The government has said at least 21 Americans are believed to have traveled to Somalia to join the terror group in what began as a push to expel Ethiopian soldiers.
Al-Shabab has expanded its focus over the years, and it has aligned itself with other anti-Western terror groups.
New York Republican Rep. Peter King's findings are based on his committee's investigation into the threat, which he plans to address Wednesday during his third hearing on Muslim radicalization in the U.S.
