Kenyan Man Accused of Planning to Hijack Aircraft in the US to Face Terror Charges

A Kenyan man is set to be charged with six counts of terrorism in the US. Cholo Abdi Abdullah is accused of conspiring with al-Qaeda linked terror group Al-Shabaab to hijack a plane in the US.

The US Department of Justice says the Kenyan national was apprehended in the Philippines in July last year on local charges and was deported to the custody of American authorities for prosecution on other charges.

It is suspected he was in the Philippines to receive pilot training as part of a terrorist scheme to hijack a commercial aircraft and crash it into a building in the US.

Having undergone pilot training, Abdi allegedly started researching 'how to hijack aircraft in order to conduct a 9/11-style attack'.

"This chilling callback 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. But we remain even more resolute in our dedication to investigating, preventing, and prosecuting such lethal plots, and will use every tool in our arsenal to stop those who would commit acts of terrorism at home and abroad," said US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.

"Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the FBI’s global partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world, Abdullah’s plot was detected before he could achieve his deadly aspirations, and now he faces federal terrorism charges in a U.S. court."