Federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging a Kenyan man with trying to stage a 9/11-style attack on the United States on behalf of the terrorist organization al-Shabab.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, who was arrested in the Philippines in 2019, was transferred to U.S. custody on Tuesday on charges that he conspired to hijack an aircraft and slam it into a building.
He pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance on Wednesday and was ordered held without bond.
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Prosecutors said Abdullah got flight training in the Philippines and obtained a pilot’s license in preparation for an attack.
Mugshots of Kenyan national Cholo Abdi Abdullah arrested by authorities on July 1 at 3:30pm. Investigation revealed that Abdullah is an alleged member of the Al Shabaab Group affiliated with Al Queda Terror Group. | @marizumali pic.twitter.com/eFYBklTZIZ
— GMA News (@gmanews) July 2, 2019
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“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,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement.
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Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss called it a “chilling callback to the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001.”
Abdullah, prosecutors said, started planning the attack in 2016 under the direction of an al-Shabab commander who was also involved in planning a deadly 2019 attack on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
The State Department has designated the Somalia-based Islamic militant group al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate, as a foreign terrorist organization.
Abdullah also researched potential hijacking methods and sought information on how to obtain a U.S. visa.
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