Ahmed , 27 , a Somali-American who had been radicalized by al-Shabaab in his adopted home state of Minnesota , traveled to Somalia and blew himself up and 29 others . The incident , the first-ever suicide bombing by a naturalized U.S. citizen , raised red flags throughout the U.S. intelligence community . Somalis began arriving in the United States in significant numbers after the U.S. intervention in Somalia 's humanitarian crisis in 1992 . The Somali-American population is now concentrated in clusters primarily in Minneapolis ; Columbus , Ohio ; Seattle , Washington and San Diego , California . The potential recruitment of young Somali-American men has been made possible by `` a number of factors that come together when a dynamic , influential and extremist leader gains access to a despondent and disenfranchised group of young men , '' Andrew Liepman , deputy director for intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center , said earlier this year . Many refugees , he said , `` lack structure and definition in their lives '' and are `` torn between their parents ' traditional tribal and clan identities , and the new cultures and traditions offered by American society . ''
MINNEAPOLIS , Minnesota -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Somali teen who left Minnesota to return to his native country last November has been reported killed . The 17-year-old , who was not named , was reportedly killed Friday in artillery fire in the violence-ravaged nation 's capital of Mogadishu , said the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in Minneapolis , Minnesota . The center is asking federal officials for help in bringing the teen 's body back to the United States for burial , executive director Omar Jamal said . The teen was among a group of young Somali-American men who left Minneapolis last year and were feared recruited by the extremist group , al-Shabaab , that has ties to al Qaeda , according to the U.S. State Department . Al-Shabaab is blamed for a surge of violence in Somalia , as insurgents group fight the government to implement sharia , a stricter form of Islamic law . The rebel group has said it has recruited many fighters in its battle . Al-Shabaab , also known as the Mujahedeen Youth Movement , was officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008 . In October , Shirwa