Former DC-Area Cabbie on Terror Most-Wanted List

Nobody knows a city as well as a taxi driver, which is why the FBI says it is very worried about the latest addition to its most-wanted terror list. Liban Haji Mohamed, 29, is a Somali-born US citizen who was driving a cab in Washington, DC's northern Virginia suburbs until a few years ago and is now believed to be with al-Shabab militants in Somalia, the Washington Post reports. "It is important for us to locate Mohamed because he has knowledge of the Washington, DC area's infrastructure such as shopping areas, Metro, airports, and government buildings," the FBI special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division tells the AP. "This makes him an asset to his terrorist associates who might plot attacks on US soil."

The FBI accuses Mohamed of acting as a recruiter for al-Shabab and says he went to Somalia in 2012. It says he is a close associate of Zachary Chesser, the Muslim convert serving 12 years for threatening the creators of South Park. The suspect's younger brother, Gulet Mohamed, has been fighting his placement on the US no-fly list for years and the brother's lawyer says the family believes Liban fled to avoid harassment he suffered from the FBI over the case. Al-Shabab "has killed Liban's uncle and imprisoned his cousins," the lawyer tells the AP. "His family believes the allegations have no basis in fact." A hearing in the brother's case is scheduled for Friday, and the lawyer says he questions the timing of the most-wanted announcement. (More Virginia stories.)