P. Sarojini
Washington, USA (CWBN)_ A statement accusing a Kenyan man for attempting to do a 9/11-style aircraft attack on the United States in favor of the al-Shabab terrorist organization has been unsealed by federal authorities. The 30-year-old Cholo Abdi Abdullah, who was arrested in 2019 in the Philippines, was handed over to US custody on accusation that he planned to hijack and crash an aircraft into a building. On Wednesday, the accused Kenyan man made his first court visit in New York.
According to the prosecutors, Abdullah underwent flight training in the Philippines and also secured a pilot’s license, planning on an attack. Also, under the guidance of an al-Shabab member, who was also engaged in planning a fatal attack on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2019, Abdullah began planning the attack in 2016.
John Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, stated, “This case involving 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”. It was referred by the Acting Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss that this incident is an alarming throwback to the terrible attacks of September 11, 2001.
It was declared by the State Department that the Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab, which is an al-Qaida affiliate, is a foreign terrorist organization. Abdullah also researched possible methods of hijacking and gathered details on how to get a visa from the US.
