Al-Shabaab operative sentenced to life for 9/11-style attack plot in U.S.
A man linked to the Somalia-based militant group al-Shabaab was sentenced to life in prison for plotting a 9/11-style terrorist attack in the United States, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors said Cholo Abdi Abdullah was sentenced after being convicted at trial of multiple terrorism-related offenses, including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and plotting to murder U.S. nationals and hijack aircraft.
According to court records, Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and spent about a year in Somalia receiving military-style training, including firearms and explosives instruction.
Prosecutors said he was later recruited by senior operatives for a long-term plan that involved becoming a commercial airline pilot in order to hijack an aircraft and crash it into a building in the United States.
Between October 2017 and July 2019, Abdullah attended a flight school in the Philippines, where he logged hundreds of hours of training toward a commercial pilot license.
Authorities said his flight training was financed by al-Shabaab and that he completed nearly all requirements needed to qualify for commercial airline employment.
After his arrest in the Philippines in July 2019, Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that he was training as a pilot on behalf of al-Shabaab so he could hijack an aircraft. Investigators said he researched cockpit security, airline hiring processes, cockpit door designs, and potential targets in the United States, including prominent buildings.
Prosecutors said Abdullah was also briefed by his handler about al-Shabaab’s January 2019 attack on the DusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more than 20 people, including a U.S. citizen. Court documents said Abdullah later intensified his attack planning and shared progress reports with al-Shabaab operatives.
Abdullah was transferred to U.S. custody in December 2020. At trial, he was convicted on six counts, including conspiring to murder U.S. nationals abroad, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
“Cholo Abdi Abdullah was a highly trained al-Shabaab operative who was dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks on behalf of a vicious terrorist organization,” said Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“Abdullah pursued his commercial pilot license at a flight school in the Philippines while conducting extensive attack planning on how to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in America,” Clayton added.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
