A former taxi driver from northern Virginia is now on the list of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
Liban Haji Mohamed, 29, was born in Somalia but became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The FBI says that Liban is a recruiter for the al-Shabab terrorist network in Somalia.
Liban is the older brother of Gulet Mohamed, who has been fighting the government for four years over his placement on the no-fly list. The family claims that Liban was harassed by the FBI after advocating for his younger brother and that he’s gone into hiding because he wanted to avoid harassment.
The charges against Liban Mohamed including providing material support to both Al Qaeda and al-Shabab. The FBI says it’s likely he left the U.S. for Africa in July 2012 but prior to that had been a taxi driver in Fairfax County, Virginia.
“It is important for us to locate Mohamed because he has knowledge of the Washington, D.C., area’s infrastructure such as shopping areas, Metro, airports, and government buildings,” said Carl Ghattas, special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division at the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This makes him an asset to his terrorist associates who might plot attacks on U.S. soil.”
The FBI also said that he was a “close associate” of Zachary Cheeser, a northern Virginia man who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for trying to join al-Shabab in 2011 along with make threats against the creators of the cartoon South Park for a perceived insult to prophet Muhammad.
Liban’s family claims the release from the FBI is nothing more than an attempt to influence the judge in the case Gulet Mohamed has filed.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a mass change in security officials after the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab struck at a quarry in northeast Kenya.
The terrorists brutally executed any non-Muslim working at the quarry. At least 36 people were confirmed dead and several others are missing.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the terror attack and said they will keep executing non-Muslims in Kenya until the country pulls their troops out of Somalia, where they are working with African Union forces to eliminate the terrorists.
Kenyan security officials say the terrorists snuck up on the workers while they were sleeping and then separated the Muslims before shooting others at close range.
President Kenyatta said that police chief David Kimaiyo and Interior Minister Joseph old Lenku are out. He called on the parliament to quickly approve his proposed replacement because “our bickering only emboldens the enemy.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will step up and be a part of the international coalition to destroy the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State.
Netanyahu addressed the statements of President Obama in an address where he also warned Iran against acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu said that Islamic State is no different than terror groups like Hamas, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and al-Shabab.
“These groups must be fought. They must be rolled back and they must ultimately be defeated. That’s why Israel fully supports President Obama’s call for united actions against ISIS,” Netanyahu said.
“All civilized countries should stand together in the fight against the radical terrorism currently sweeping the Middle East, Netanyahu added. “And we are playing our part in this continued effort. Some of the things are known; some of the things are less known.”
Netanyahu said to the Muslims around the world they need to realize that Israel is an ally against Islamic extremism and that perhaps some Arab nations need to re-evaluate their relationships with Israel.
“They understand Israel is not their enemy but their ally in the fight against this common enemy. I believe that presents an opportunity for cooperation and perhaps an opportunity for peace.”
The U.S. has confirmed the head of an Islamist group in Somalia has been killed s part of a U.S. drone strike.
Ahmed Abdi Godane, who had run the group Al-Shabab during terror attacks in Somalia along with attacks on Christian villages and churches in surrounding countries, died when a drone strike took out a facility used for terrorist training. Ten other terrorists died in the attack.
President Obama hailed the successful strike as an example of his administration’s plan to fight terrorism.
“Godane’s removal is a major symbolic and operational loss to the largest Al Qaeda affiliate in Africa and reflects years of painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals,” the White House said in a statement.
Al-Shabab is most notorious for the assault on Kenya’s Westgate Mall that killed 68 people and wounded 200.
A U.S. drone strike targeted the leader of an Islamic terrorist group in Somalia on Monday.
Pentagon officials confirmed the U.S. targeted the head of Al-Shabaab, a Al-Qaeda related group that had been fighting against the Somalia government.
“We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
Somali officials say that Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of al-Shabaab, might have been killed in the strike and they’re working to confirm his death. The air strike came after al-Shabaab attacked a high security prison in an attempt to free several terrorists. All terrorists were reported killed in the assault along with three government soldiers and two civilians.
The U.S. has periodically carried out air strikes in Somalia against terrorist headquarters and training centers.
Al-Shabaab is mostly active in rural areas of the country after losing control of major cities in 2011 after an offensive from Somali and African Union forces.
The Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram has made another deadly attack on a Christian church in Nigeria.
The terrorists bombed Saint Charles Catholic Church in Kano, Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 5 people and wounding 8 others. The bombing happened shortly after the ending of Sunday mass as the crowd was beginning to leave the building. Police estimate the weapon was an IED thrown from across the road.
The attack was one of two attempted in Kano on Sunday. A woman wearing a homicide bomb vest was surrounded and isolated by police, detonating her device where she could not cause damage. Five officers were slightly wounded when she detonated the device.
In a surprising show of support to the Christian community of Kano, Muslim officials cancelled the city’s celebrating of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan.
Government officials say that Boko Haram has started receiving weapons and training from other al-Qaeda related groups like Al-Shabab in Somalia.
Security is being increased at shopping centers and other public locations after U.S. intelligence discovered plots for a terrorist attack similar to the attack last month in Kenya that killed over 66 people.
The BBC is reporting that cars are being searched along with bags of pedestrians in Kampala. Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told the BBC he was thankful the U.S. told them of the impending attack.
Somalia’s al-Shabab terrorist group, who carried out the Kenyan attack, launched a terror attack in Kampala in 2010 that killed more than 70 people. Two restaurants filled with soccer fans watching the World Cup were hit with homicide bombers.
Al-Shabab has threatened Uganda because they have contributed troops to the African Union force helping Somalia’s legitimate government destroy the terrorist group.
The Navy’s elite Seal Team Six cut short their operation to capture a leader of al-Shabab when they saw children would be caught in the crossfire of the attack. Continue reading →
A Kenyan intelligence official says al-Shabab ran a store for almost a year in the upscale mall where they launched a terrorist assault last week.
The revelation could explain how the terrorists were able to get so many weapons into the mall. Continue reading →
Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta says the four day siege by Islamist terrorists at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi is over.
In a televised statement to the nation, Kenyatta said that 5 terrorists had been shot and killed during the battle with police and 11 other terrorists have been taken into custody. Continue reading →