Kenyan man trained in Somalia, planned 9/11 style attack on America

Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a 34-year-old Kenyan national and operative for the terrorist organization al-Shabaab, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in federal prison for plotting a "9/11-style" attack on a skyscraper in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres handed down the sentence in the Southern District of New York after Abdullah was convicted in November 2024 on six terrorism-related counts, including conspiring to murder U.S. nationals and commit aircraft piracy. Prosecutors revealed that Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and received military training in Somalia before being directed to enroll in a flight school in the Philippines.

Between 2017 and 2019, he completed nearly all the requirements for a commercial pilot's license while conducting extensive research into cockpit security and airline procedures. His primary target was the 55-story Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia, and he had specifically researched Delta Air Lines flights as part of his preparation for the suicide mission.

The plot was thwarted in July 2019 when Abdullah was arrested in the Philippines on local charges before being transferred to U.S. custody in 2020. During the investigation, he admitted to the FBI that he was fully prepared to die in the attack and that he chose Atlanta because it is a major air travel hub. In addition to the two consecutive life sentences, the court imposed a lifetime of supervised release, ensuring that Abdullah will remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life.