ST. PAUL (AP) - A detention hearing is set to be held in federal court in St. Paul for four of the six Minnesotans who are accused of plotting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

The hearing starts at 9 a.m. Thursday. The remaining two defendants will appear in a San Diego courtroom Friday.

Prosecutors have said they plan to ask a judge to keep the men in custody pending trial, saying they are a flight risk. Defense attorneys disagree.

Since 2007, more than 22 young Somali men have traveled from Minnesota to Somalia to join the militant group al-Shabab. Authorities have said a handful of Minnesota residents have also traveled to Syria to fight with militants in the past year, and at least one has died.

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