Kenyan national Cholo Abdi Abdullah Obtained Pilot Training and Researched How to Hijack Aircraft in Order to Conduct a 9/11-Style Attack at the Direction of al Shabaab. He was indicted by the US Department of Justice for six counts of terrorism-related offences arising from his activities as an operative of the foreign terrorist organization al Shabaab, including conspiring to hijack aircraft in order to commit a terroristic attack.
This was announced by the Office of Public Affairs of the US Department of Justice.
The accused, 30-year-old Lob Abdi Abdullah, is a member of the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab, which is called "one of the most lethal" subsidiaries of the Al-Qaeda. He planned to hijack the aircraft and crash it on a high-rise building in the United States.
By the order of one of the senior Al-Shabab's leaders, the potential terrorist obtained pilot training in the Philippines in preparation for seeking to hijack a commercial aircraft and crash it into a building in the United States. In preparation for the attack, he studied the shortcomings of airport security, reviewed the tactics of hijacking, in particular, ways to break into the cockpit, as well as explored the tallest buildings in major US cities. He was trying to get a visa to the United States.
Prosecutors do not specify the exact city in which the attack was planned.
Abdullah was arrested yet in July 2019 in the Philippines on local charges and was subsequently transferred on Dec. 15, 2020, in connection with his deportation from the Philippines to the custody of U.S. law enforcement for prosecution on the charges in the indictment.
“This case, which involved a plot to use an aircraft to kill innocent victims, reminds us of the deadly threat that radical Islamic terrorists continue to pose to our nation. And it also highlights our commitment to pursue and hold accountable anybody who seeks to harm our country and our citizens. No matter where terrorists who plan to target Americans may be located, we will seek to identify them and bring them to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “We owe a debt of gratitude to the detectives, agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this defendant’s arrest.”
Abdullah is charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (al Shabaab), conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, conspiring to destroy aircraft, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Abdullah faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is facing at least 20 years of imprisonment for the committed crimes.