Two women sentenced in the U.S. for allegedly financing al-Shabaab terror group

Two women living in the U.S. were sentenced on Friday for providing financial assistance to the terror group al-Shabaab, which is active in Somalia and Kenya.

Muna Osman Jama, 36, who hails from Reston, Virginia, received a 12-year prison sentence, while her co-conspirator, Hunda Dhirane, who is from Kent, Washington, was sentenced to 11 years, according to The Star, Kenya.

The two women, who were originally from Somalia, were found guilty of providing support to a foreign terrorist organization in October last year. Court documents revealed that they sent money to al-Shabaab financiers in Somalia and Kenya, which they referred to respectively as the "Hargeisa side" and the "Nairobi side."

The U.S. Department of Justice also noted that they were responsible for organizing what they referred to as a "Group of Fifteen," which included women from Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada, as well as Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The "Group of Fifteen" met regularly in a private chatroom established by Jama in order to coordinate and track monthly payments to the "Hargeisa side," according to the documents.

The money was used to fund al-Shabaab military operations in the Golis mountains in northern Somalia as well as two safe houses in the "Nairobi side."

One of the safe houses was used to store weapons and to prepare for attacks while the other was used to treat al-Shabaab fighters who had been wounded in battle, the Department of Justice said.

The FBI had recorded phone calls and other communications between the women and members of the "Group of Fifteen." The department believes that the recordings demonstrated that the women had close connections with the leaders of al-Shabaab and were privy to non-public, inside information concerning the terror group's activities.

"Jama and Dhirane were recorded as they laughed as the carnage at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was still taking place. Dhirane and co-conspirator were also recorded as they laughed at the Boston Marathon Bombing before it became known who committed the attack," a statement from the Department of Justice read.

Al-Shabaab had killed at least 69 people and left many others injured during the four-day siege at Westgate Mall.

The women did not deny their sympathies for the terror group, but their lawyers maintained that the money they raised went to people who were not "clearly" defined as al-Shabaab members.