Justice Dept. sentences al-Shabaab terrorist for planning 9/11-inspired plane hijacking, crash plot

Abdullah was arrested in the Philippines in July 2019, transferred to US custody in December 2020, and found guilty at a trial in November 2024, the Justice Department noted.

He joined the Somalia-based terror group in 2015, spending approximately one year at a series of safehouses in the East African country, where he worked alongside high-ranking terrorists, receiving military-style training, including how to fire an assault rifle, and how to make explosives of different sizes, the Justice Department confirmed, citing court documents.

During this training process, a senior al-Shabaab terrorist recruited operatives for a "greater plan" that was "bigger than the fighting and the explosives," the Justice Department commented.

Abdullah agreed to join al-Shabaab's international scheme to carry out a mass-casualty terror attack, which included the Kenyan training to be an airline pilot in order to hijack a commercial airplane, crashing it into a US-based building.

He therefore attended flight school in the Philippines between October 2017 and July 2019, completing hundreds of hours of training to become a pilot. The tuition was financed by al-Shabaab, which raised funds in Somalia through a system it calls "taxation," the Justice Department confirmed.

By the time of his arrest, he had completed almost all of the requirements to gain a commercial pilot's license and had nearly completed the "instrument rating," which would be required to gain employment as a pilot with a major airline, the Justice Department elaborated.

As part of his interrogation following his arrest, Abdullah admitted to the FBI that he researched transit visas that would permit him to enter the US, as well as how to hijack an airplane, adding that he expected to die during the attack.

While at flight school, he continued to research his attack plans, searching online for information concerning airplane cockpit doors, as well as airline employment, instructor training, and possible interview questions for airline roles, the Justice Department noted. This included researching whether air marshals are on every flight, visiting websites discussing whether pilots carry handguns inside airplane cockpits, and viewing articles on how to open airplane cockpit doors from the outside.

Abdullah then searched online for footage of the suicide blast, and two days later, expedited his attack planning by researching "Delta flights" and the "tallest building in Atlanta," focusing on an attack on the Bank of America Plaza in that city - a 55-story tall building.

During his training, he also provided his handler with reports on his progress, in which he described how he had taken flights to determine which seats on the airplane would have the best views of the flight deck door, the Justice Department noted.

In addition, he researched hijacking attempts since 9/11, and described how the "brothers during 9/11 did something completely unexpected in a more creative way - study for piloting."

He also concluded that the only successful hijack since the deadly 2001 attack was when an Ethiopian Airlines plane was taken, but noted that this only succeeded as it was "hijacked by the pilot himself."

His notes comment that his main idea for a successful mission was to "need a pilot in the cockpit - meaning I should apply for the airlines," the Justice Department elaborated.

"Today, justice has been served," Assistant Attorney-General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.

"Abdullah, an al-Shabaab terrorist, sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history, as he prepared to hijack a commercial airliner to take down a building on US soil.  We thwarted this plot due to the relentless efforts of US law enforcement and thereby likely saved many innocent lives.  His life sentence is a powerful reminder that those who plot attacks against the United States will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law," Eisenberg added.

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 organization," US Attorney Jay Clayton commented.

He "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. As he later admitted to the FBI, he was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack. I commend the years of outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the career prosecutors of this Office who disrupted Abdullah’s murderous plot and brought him to face justice in a US court. He will now spend [decades] behind bars, where he will not be able to harm innocent Americans," Clayton continued.

Hakarat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as al-Shabaab, is an al-Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia and active in neighboring countries, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia.

Since its formation, it has carried out several violent attacks across the region, including suicide bombings and armed assaults on hotels, restaurants, beaches, and other civilian targets.

The US designated al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2008.

In May 2008, the terror group publicly declared that its terror operatives would "hunt the US government."

In May 2018, it announced that it would participate in al-Qaeda's campaign to retaliate for the US's decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem. The operation was called "al-Qudsu Lan Tuhawwad," often translated to "Jerusalem will never be Judaized."

Al-Shabaab later publicly claimed responsibility for major terror attacks carried out as part of this operation.

The terror group, largely based in Somalia, on Saturday denounced Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent country.

Ali Dheere, a senior al-Shabaab spokesperson, stated that Israel's recognition of Somaliland as sovereign shows the Jewish state has "decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories," in order to support "the apostate administration in the northwest regions."

The terror group also released a written statement in English, titled "Zionists not welcome in Somalia."

In that statement, they wrote that "Zionist Jews harbour the most enmity towards the believers," and that "Zionists are the most severe enemies that Islam faces."

"We must not consent to the humiliation that the Zionists seek to impose upon us, nor should we accept the evil that stems from this agenda. History must not record that the Somali people welcomed the Zionist Jews, hosted them on their land, or willingly allowed them to violate its sanctity - especially at a time when the Jews are massacring our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine, and the blood of Muslims in Gaza continues to be shed," the terror group's statement concluded.