Germany charges 6 men over alleged links to al-Shabaab

German prosecutors have charged six men over alleged links to the Somali-based Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab.

The federal prosecutors' office on Friday charged five of them with membership of a terrorist organization, and a sixth for attempting to join the group. It said the six, aged 24-31, are all German citizens, and one of them also has Tunisian nationality.

Five of the men are accused of undergoing weapons training at a camp run by al-Shabaab in Somalia starting in 2012. Prosecutors say two of them later planned to join the Islamic State group in Syria.

Al-Shabaab suffered major setbacks in 2014 but continues to wage a deadly insurgency against Somalia's government. It has carried out many attacks in Somalia and in neighboring countries.