Prosecutors allege Abdi Abdullah attended a flight school from 2017 and 2019 from the Philippines and got coaching.
Federal prosecutors in New York have whined a guy who they state took leadership by a”senior al-Shabab commander” and went to flight school in the Philippines so that he can throw a commercial airliner. They say the guy also searched data”concerning the tallest construction in a significant U.S. city”
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, fees Cholo Abdi Abdullah with six counts including many counts of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy and conspiracy to kill U.S. taxpayers.
Prosecutors allege Abdi Abdullah attended a flight school from 2017 and 2019 from the Philippines and got coaching,”finally completing the tests required to get his pilot’s licence ”
They say that he allegedly researched the way he can hijack a commercial airliner and breach a cockpit doorway, and hunted”information regarding the tallest construction in an important U.S. town, and information about how to acquire a U.S. visa”
In court this day Abdullah told the judge,”I plead not guilty to each of the counts”
He’s been ordered detained pending trial and his lawyer said that they reserve the right to request bail in the long run.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement the al-Shabab commander who supposedly led Abdi Abdullah was responsible for planning that the 2019 Nairobi resort assault that killed 21 people, including a U.S. taxpayer who lived the 9/11 strikes.
FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney stated”he got a pilot’s license abroad, learning the way to hijack an aircraft with the intention of inducing a mass-casualty episode within our boundaries.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss added,”this terrifying callback into the dreadful attacks of September 11, 2001, is a stark reminder that terrorist groups such as al-Shabab remain dedicated to murdering U.S. citizens and assaulting the USA.”
