Kenyan member of al-Shabab is indicted for new 9/11 plot
Kenyan al-Shabab terrorist is charged with plotting 9/11-style terror attack on an American city after training as a pilot in Philippines
- Cholo Abdi Abdullah allegedly spent years training to carry out a 9/11-style attack; he will appear in a New York court later Wednesday
- Abdullah, who has been in custody since 2019, took orders from an al-Shabab commander responsible for the Nairobi hotel attack in 2019, prosecutors said
- He researched ways to enter the US and how to hijack a plane, they add
- Abdullah faces multiple charges and if convicted 20 years to life in prison
- It is not clear which skyscrapers were part of the alleged plot
- But the acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney called it ‘a chilling callback’ to 9/11
A Kenyan member of al-Shabab stands accused of plotting to fly an airliner into a United States’ skyscraper after he trained as a pilot in the Philippines.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, spent years training to carry out a 9/11-style attack, prosecutors say. He will appear in a New York court later Wednesday.
He said to have been arrested in 2019 in the Philippines with a bomb and gun, Rappler.com reports.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: ‘This chilling callback to the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, is a stark reminder that terrorist groups like al Shabaab remain committed to killing U.S. citizens and attacking the United States.’
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, pictured, spent years training to carry out a 9/11-style attack, prosecutors say. He will appear in a New York court later Wednesday
Abdullah, who has been in custody since last year, took orders from an al-Shabab commander responsible for the hotel attack in Nairobi in 2019, prosecutors said.
He researched ways to enter the US and how to hijack a plane, they add.
Abdullah faces multiple charges and if convicted 20 years to life in prison.
It is not clear which skyscrapers were part of the alleged plot.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said: ‘Nearly 20 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there are those who remain determined to conduct terror attacks against United States citizens. Abdullah, we allege, is one of them.
‘He obtained a pilot’s license overseas, learning how to hijack an aircraft for the purpose of causing a mass-casualty incident within our borders.’
