Two Somali-born men convicted for terror plans

STOCKHOLM - A Swedish court Wednesday sentenced two Somali-born men to four years each in prison for planning a terror attack in the troubled African country.

The two, aged 22 and 26, were linked to the radical Islamic al-Shabab militia and were convicted of planning a suicide attack in Somalia, the ruling said.

The five-member court was not unanimous but the majority handed down stiffer sentences than the three-year terms the prosecutor had called for.

Both men denied the charges that they planned the attacks, but admitted to have visited Somalia and said they supported al-Shabab’s aims.

Evidence presented by prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom included wiretapped telephone conversations. The trial was held at the district court in the west coast city of Gothenburg.

The younger man was arrested in the city in May. The older man was detained in June in a Stockholm suburb.

Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for twin suicide blasts in Uganda in July when more than 70 people were killed.