Enlarge By Farah Abdi Warsameh, AP A boy leads Islamist al-Shabab fighters as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu's Suqaholaha neighborhood in Somalia in January. The U.S. has tapped into a pipeline channeling money and fighters to al-Shabaab, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday. Community organizer aided FBI in terrorism cases When community organizer Abdirizak Bihi learned recruiters from the Somali terrorist organization al-Shabaab targeted youth in his Minneapolis neighborhood to fight in Somalia, Bihi did his own outreach to take them back. "It was difficult to fight against al-Shabaab in the beginning. They had a lot of money," Bihi says. Those aligned with al-Shabaab "were telling people we were informers working against the mosque and the community" and warned families that speaking to the FBI would land them in Guantanamo. ON DEADLINE: Read excerpt on Holder's remarks Yet Bihi eventually persuaded 20 families to talk to the FBI. On Thursday, FBI Executive Assistant Director Sean Joyce thanked the Somali community in Minneapolis for their efforts as he and Attorney General Eric Holder announced charges against 14 people in the USA and Somalia, who allegedly recruited fighters or raised money or fought for al-Shabaab. The U.S. has tapped into a "deadly pipeline" channeling money and fighters to al-Shabaab, Holder said. He added that federal agents are seeing an "increasing number" of U.S. citizens "who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad." The State Department has designated the Somalia-based al-Shabaab — in English, "The Youth" — as a foreign terrorist organization and says it has ties to al-Qaeda. The Muslim group supports a conservative Islamic ideology. The insurgent organization is fighting Somalia's government and controls the southern part of the African nation. FBI agents on Thursday arrested two Somali-American women, Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 63, in Rochester, Minn., for allegedly fundraising for al-Shabaab in Minneapolis' Somali community. The women, both U.S. citizens, solicited money door-to-door and held fundraising teleconferences, in some cases telling donors the money would help the poor, court documents say. Prosecutors also charged three Minnesota men with terrorism offenses for leaving the U.S. to fight for al-Shabaab and added new charges against seven other Minnesota men previously charged. Prosecutors also filed additional charges against two other U.S. citizens: Omar Shafik Hammami, 26, formerly of Daphne, Ala., and Jehad Serwan Mostafa, 28, formerly of San Diego, for providing material support to al-Shabaab, Holder said. Both are thought to be in Somalia, he said. Hammami, known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, has appeared in an al-Shabaab recruiting video, Holder said. Bihi says Thursday's arrests mark "almost two years of a hectic job to win the hearts of the community against al-Shabaab." Bihi — whose 17-year-old nephew left home in 2008 to fight in Somalia and was killed — returned to families week after week "to say, 'Look at me, I'm not arrested,' " he says. "We had to wage a holy jihad to convince the community that al-Shabaab is here and it's condemning all our children." Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more