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| Liban Haji Mohamed [PHOTO: Handout] |
Washington: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has added Liban Haji Mohamed, a naturalized US citizen born in Somalia, to its list of Most Wanted Terrorists.
The Bureau is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Mohamed’s arrest and conviction.
Mohamed is wanted in connection with providing material support to Harakat Shabaab Al-Mujahidin, also known as al Shabaab, and al Qaeda. Al Shabaab is a Somali-based insurgent and terrorist group whose senior leadership is believed to have trained and fought in Afghanistan. Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for many bombings in Somalia and Uganda and is known to have recruited westerners. The US Department of State designated al Qaeda as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1999, and al Shabaab as an FTO in 2008. Mohamed was a close associate of convicted terrorist Zachary Chesser, who was sentenced in February 2011, to 25 years in prison for attempted material support to al Shabaab.
Traveling with his US passport, Mohamed is believed to have left the US on or about July 5, 2012, with the intent to join al Shabaab in East Africa. On July 16, 2012, Interpol, the world’s largest international police organization, issued a blue notice for Mohamed in order to collect additional information about his identity, location, and activities in relation to crime. On August 15, 2014, Interpol issued a red notice to seek Mohamed as a wanted fugitive.
A federal warrant for Mohamed’s arrest was unsealed by the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia on January 29, 2015.
With the addition of Liban Haji Mohamed, there are currently 31 individuals on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. Individuals on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list have been charged in the US for their alleged involvement in various terrorist attacks or planned attacks around the world against US interests or persons.