Federal officials say a senior member of the al-Shabaab terror group was secretly brought to the U.S. Monday night to stand trial after spending months giving "valuable intelligence" about al-Qaida's operations in Somalia and Yemen.
Senior administration officials say Ahmed Abdulqadir Warsame was arrested April 19 by the U.S. military and kept on a Navy ship at sea, where he was questioned by a team of U.S. interrogators.
"He gave us very valuable intelligence," one official said. Warsame was in a special position to talk about both al-Qaida's operations in Somalia and its operations in Yemen, the official added.
The officials say he was a go-between for both groups, and he's accused of providing both groups with money and training. They say he was in Yemen last year for more than a year, and that the information he provided "has been used to get a better understanding of what we're up against" with al-Qaida in Yemen.
The officials say he was questioned for weeks before he was given any kind of Miranda warning, at which point his cooperation stopped.
He was brought to New York late Monday night and charges were unsealed Tuesday afternoon in New York.
