FBI Informant Begins Third Day Of Testimony In Terror Trial

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Federal prosecutors continued their questioning of their key witness in the terror trial involving three Minnesota men.

Abdirahman Bashir, 20, was an FBI informant who secretly recorded his friends as they discussed plans to allegedly try and join ISIS.

He continued Friday in a Minneapolis federal courtroom to walk prosecutors through secretly-taped conversations he had in late March and early April with Mohamed Farah, Guled Omar and Abdirahman Daud.

The men discussed, in their own words, concern about getting caught after earlier failed attempts to leave the country

Omar mentioned to Bashir at one point, "I'm just saying, bro, if it doesn't work out, that's what I'm worried about."

But the group allegedly moved forward, leaving Bashir in charge of securing passports.

The plan was to pick up the documents in San Diego, drive to Mexico and get a flight to Turkey.

While allegedly handing over passport photos, Daud said, "We got the frickin' equation, bro, we just have to execute."

Taped conversations reveal that ISIS videos and social media postings continued to inspire the men as they waited.

Omar discussed his desired role in ISIS as a tank hunter, while also saying, "If I had an AK-47, that would be enough for me."

But the recordings told a different story to the men's family and fellow community members who were listening in court.

"We hear all this talk, it's young men talking the talk," said an interpreter speaking for Ayan Farah, a mother of one of the defendants.

Family members believe the conversations did not capture a plan to leave the country to join ISIS. In their opinion, they heard an informant encouraging the conversation.

"She wants to make very clear that this conversation doesn't happen naturally," said Farah via her interpreter. "The CHS was always initiating the conversation."

The defense could get the case by the middle of next week. Bashir will take the witness stand again on Monday.