MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ A Minneapolis **>cab driver<** was recovering Thursday after a passenger attacked him with a hatchet.

Mohd Farahid, who also goes by the name Mohammed, was in fair condition after surgery Thursday morning at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

Farahid, 51, was hit was picking up a fare just after midnight in north Minneapolis.

The operations director for Blue and White/ABC Taxi said Farahid suffered several broken bones in his arm and had a gash to his head.

Lt. Greg Reinhardt of the Minneapolis Police Department said robbery was a possible motive for the attack, but the suspect didn't appear to get any money.

``The is very unusual and particularly frightening,'' Reinhardt
said. Occasionally taxi drivers will be attacked with a knife or a gun, "but not a hatchet. This is so unique and out of the blue. This is a rare event."

The suspect fled before police arrived. There have been no arrests.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
AP-WS-01-31-08 1402EST