Kenyan Man Charged With Plotting 9/11-Style Aerial Attack On The USA

A Kenyan man who is suspected to have been a member of al-Shabab has been charged with plotting an attack on the USA similar to the attacks of September 11 2001 after training to be a pilot in the Philippines.

30-year-old Cholo Abdi Abdullah stands accused of planning to fly an airliner into a building into an American skyscraper. He will appear in court in New York later on Wednesday.

According to reports on Rappler.com, he was arrested in the Philippines with a bomb and a gun in 2019.

Acting Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss said: " This chilling call-back 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."

Assistant Attorney General John Demers said: "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,"

Prosecutors claims that Abdullah - acting under the direction of a senior al-Shabaab commander - travelled across to the Philippines in 2016 and began training at a flight school for "the purpose of obtaining training for carrying out the 9/11-style attack."

According to the court documents, he completed that training and obtained his pilot's license in 2019.

He is also accused of researching plans for how to hi-jack aeroplanes that included breaching a cockpit door during his time at flight school.

Abdullah also allegedly sought to discover information "about the tallest building in a major U.S. city, and information about how to obtain a U.S. visa."

The federal authorities haven't disclosed the specific target or the location within the United States.

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."

Abdullah has been charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation (al-Shabaab) as well as conspiring to murder US nationals, conspiring to destroy aircraft, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

He will appear at a court in New York later today.

Featured Image Credit: Philippines National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group

Topics: World News, US News

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

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