A Kenyan man who trained as a commercial pilot and planned to carry out a 9/11-style terrorist attack in the United States has been sentenced to life in prison, ending a years-long international investigation.35-year-old Cholo Abdi Abdullah was sentenced after being convicted of multiple terrorism-related offences, including conspiring to murder US nationals, hijack aircraft and provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. The sentencing followed a jury verdict delivered on November 4, 2024.US officials said Abdullah was an operative of al-Shabaab (Islamist religious extremist militant) who deliberately pursued flight training so he could crash a commercial airliner into a building in America.
‘Dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks’
Judge Jay Clayton said Abdullah had been “dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks”.Clayton further explained how Abdullah got his pilot training.“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 said. “As he later admitted to the FBI, he was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack.” FBI official Christophe Raia said that Abdullah had been “justly punished today for his plotting to commit a 9/11-style terrorist attack”.
Somalia to flight school
According to court evidence, Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and spent about a year in Somalia living in safehouses and receiving weapons and explosives training. He was later selected by senior figures for a “greater plan” that went beyond fighting on the ground.That plan involved Abdullah becoming a trained pilot so he could hijack an aircraft abroad and fly it into a US target.Between October 2017 and July 2019, Abdullah trained at a flight school in the Philippines, spending hundreds of hours in classes, simulators and actual flights. Prosecutors said al-Shabaab paid for his training using money raised through extortion.By the time of his arrest, Abdullah had completed nearly all the requirements for a commercial pilot licence and was close to obtaining the required rating needed to fly a major airline.
About the attack plan
After his arrest in the Philippines in July 2019, Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that he was training to hijack a plane on behalf of al-Shabaab. He said he expected passengers to be killed or injured and believed he would die in the attack himself.Investigators found he had researched cockpit doors, airline security, air marshals and whether knives could be taken on board. He also searched for airline jobs and studied hijackings carried out after September 11.Abdullah had begun researching Delta flights and tall buildings in Atlanta, with his eys on the Bank of America Plaza. In messages to his handler, Abdullah praised the 9/11 attackers and wrote that a pilot inside the cockpit was essential for a “very successful mission”.
What is the verdict?
Before he could complete his training or carry out the plot, Abdullah was arrested by Philippine authorities and later transferred to US custody in December 2020.In November 2024, a jury found him guilty on six counts, including conspiring to commit aircraft piracy and acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Several of the charges carried potential life sentences.Abdullah was sentenced to life in prison with no supervised release.
