Fox News: Al-Qaida Affiliate Mining Uranium for Iran in Somalia

Image: Fox News: Al-Qaida Affiliate Mining Uranium for Iran in Somalia

(Wiebke Schmidt/AP)

FILE - Members of Somalia's al-Shabab militant group patrol on foot on the outskirts of Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. Somalia now says al-Shabab militants are plotting to supply uranium to Iran.

By Jason Devaney

Thursday, 31 Aug 2017 09:55 PM

Radical Islamic terrorists in Africa are mining uranium and plan to send it to Iran, according to a new report.

Fox News reported Thursday that al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab is working with a regional Islamic State (ISIS) network in Somalia. The groups have seized control of a uranium mine and are currently strip mining the ore.

The revelations were detailed in an Aug. 11 letter prepared by Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Garaad Omar and sent to U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz. Fox News posted a copy of the letter.

“This issue can be summed up in a single word: uranium,” Omar wrote. “Al-Shabaab forces have captured critical surface exposed uranium deposits in the Galmudug region and are strip mining triuranium octoxide for transport to Iran.”
Uranium is used for nuclear fuel and nuclear weapons. Iran signed an international agreement in 2015 that severely curbed its nuclear activities, although it’s not entirely clear if Iran is abiding by the terms.

“Only the United States has the capacity to identify and smash Al-Shabaab elements operating within our country,” Omar’s letter reads. “The time for surgical strikes and limited engagement has passed, as Somalia’s problems have metastasized into the World’s problems.”

The Iran nuclear deal was signed under former President Barack Obama and has been highly criticized by Republicans, who say it did not do enough to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This month, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani threatened to restart his country’s nuclear program.

Iran is also sending its warships into the western Atlantic Ocean to flex its military might after the U.S. accused it of violating the nuclear agreement.

Related Stories:

© 2017 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

 

 

Al Qaeda affiliate mining uranium to send to Iran, Somali official warns US ambassador

 

An Al Qaeda affiliate has seized control of uranium mines in Africa with the intent of supplying the material to Iran, according to a diplomatic letter from a top Somali official appealing to the U.S. for “immediate military assistance.”

The letter, reviewed by Fox News, was addressed to U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz. Somalia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ahmed Awad confirmed to Fox News on Thursday that the letter “has indeed been issued” by Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Garaad Omar, whose signature is on the document.

The Aug. 11-dated letter delivered an urgent warning to the U.S. that the al-Shabaab terror network has linked up with the regional ISIS faction and is “capturing territory” in the central part of the country.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL LETTER

‘Every day that passes without intervention provides America’s enemies with additional material for nuclear weapons.’

– Letter from Somalia’s foreign minister to U.S. ambassador

“This issue can be summed up in a single word: uranium,” the letter said. “Al-Shabaab forces have captured critical surface exposed uranium deposits in the Galmudug region and are strip mining triuranium octoxide for transport to Iran.”

For the Trump administration, the warning represents yet another potential security threat, as the U.S. government simultaneously grapples with a nuclear standoff with North Korea, the prospect of a stalemate in Afghanistan and ISIS activity across the Middle East and North Africa.

But the letter said “now is not the time to look away,” urging the U.S. ambassador to consider the request for intelligence and military assistance.

“Only the United States has the capacity to identify and smash Al-Shabaab elements operating within our country. The time for surgical strikes and limited engagement has passed, as Somalia’s problems have metastasized into the World’s problems,” the letter said. “Every day that passes without intervention provides America’s enemies with additional material for nuclear weapons. There can be no doubt that global stability is at stake.”

Awad told Fox News that the letter has been acknowledged by the State Department.
The State Department would not comment on the diplomatic letter, but did not dispute its authenticity and referred Fox News to the government of Somalia. Iran was supposed to pull back on its nuclear program under the terms of the agreement struck with the Obama administration.

 

Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London-based correspondent.

Jake Gibson is a producer working at the Fox News Washington bureau who covers politics, law enforcement and intelligence issues.

Source    –   FOX News