Nairobi — A Kenyan national linked to the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabaab has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States for plotting a 9/11-style terrorist attack targeting American civilians.

Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 35, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New York, following his conviction on multiple terrorism-related charges.

These included conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and plotting to hijack a commercial aircraft to crash it into a U.S. building.

Abdullah’s conviction concluded a jury trial on November 4, 2024. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described him as a highly trained extremist prepared to die in pursuit of a mass-casualty attack.

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U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton described Abdullah as a highly trained extremist who was prepared to die in pursuit of a mass-casualty attack.

“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 organisation,” Clayton said.

“He pursued a commercial pilot licence while carefully planning how to hijack a plane and crash it into a building in America. He will now spend the rest of his life behind bars, where he cannot harm innocent people.”

Extremist Target

According to court documents, Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015. He spent about a year in Somalia moving between safe houses, where he received military-style training that included firearms handling and explosives-making.

He was later selected by senior operatives for what was described as a greater plan an international aviation plot aimed at replicating the September 11 attacks.

Between 2017 and 2019, Abdullah enrolled at a flight school in the Philippines, where he trained extensively toward obtaining a commercial pilot’s licence. Prosecutors said his tuition and living expenses were funded by al-Shabaab through an extortion-based financing network in Somalia.

By the time of his arrest in July 2019, Abdullah had completed nearly all the requirements for a commercial pilot’s licence and was close to obtaining an instrument rating that would have allowed him to work for a major airline.

Following his arrest, Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that he was training to become a pilot so he could hijack a plane on behalf of al-Shabaab.

Investigators said he researched cockpit security, airline hiring processes, transit visas into the U.S., and whether weapons could be smuggled on board aircraft. He acknowledged that others would likely die during the attack and that he expected to die himself.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the plot was disrupted through coordinated international law enforcement efforts.

“Abdullah sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history. Because of the relentless work of U.S. and international partners, this plot was thwarted, and countless lives were likely saved,” Eisenberg said.

Court records also linked Abdullah’s radicalisation to al-Shabaab’s broader campaign targeting Western interests, including the group’s involvement in the January 2019 DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi, which killed more than 20 people, including a U.S. citizen.

Prosecutors said Abdullah was briefed on the attack by his handler and later conducted online searches for footage of the assault, using it as motivation to advance his own plans.

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