14 Americans to be charged with joining Al Shabab, an al Qaeda wannabe/spinoff/affiliate group. 12 are from Minnesota, 1 from Alabama, and 1 from California.

The charges were due to be formally announced at a news conference at noon ET at the Justice Department, NBC reported.

The 14 people include 12 from Minnesota, one from Alabama and one from California, the officials said.

Al-Shabab is Somalia’s most-feared militant group.

The group recently claimed responsibility for bombing two sites in Uganda where people were watching a soccer World Cup game on television, killing 76 people. Al-Shabab said the blasts were in retaliation for civilian deaths caused by African Union troops in Somali capital Mogadishu.

U.S. counter terrorism officials believe there may be as many as 50 U.S. citizens fighting with al-Shabab in Somalia, according to NBC News, with some from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and also from other cities with large Somali-American populations including Columbus, Ohio; Seattle; and Kansas City.