Kenyan Man Plots 9/11-Style Attack on US Building Ahead of Elections, Arrested

New York: A Kenyan man was convicted Monday of plotting a 9/11-style attack on a US building on behalf of terrorist organisation al-Shabab.

A federal jury in Manhattan found Cholo Abdi Abdullah guilty on all six counts he faced for conspiring to hijack an aircraft and slam it into a building, according to court records.

He's due to be sentenced next March and faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison.

Abdullah represented himself during trial, which opened last week. He declined to give an opening statement and did t actively participate in questioning witnesses.

In court papers filed ahead of trial, prosecutors said Abdullah intended to "merely sit passively during trial, t oppose prosecution and whatever outcome, he would accept outcome because he does t believe that this is a legitimate system.” Lawyers appointed to assist Abdullah in his self-defence didn't respond to an email seeking comment Monday.

Federal prosecutors, who rested ir case Thursday, said Abdullah plotted attack for four years, undergoing extensive training in explosives and how to operate in secret and avoid detection.

He n moved to Philippines in 2017 where he began training as a commercial pilot.

Abdullah was almost finished with his two-year pilot training when he was arrested in 2019 on local charges.

He was transferred following year to US law enforcement authorities, who charged him with terrorism related crimes.

Prosecutors said Abdullah also researched how to breach a cockpit door and information “about tallest building in a major US city” before he was caught.

State Department in 2008 designated al-Shabab, which means “ youth” in Arabic, as a foreign terrorist organisation. militant group is an al-Qaida affiliate that has fought to establish an Islamic state in Somalia based on Shariah law. 

(Except for headline, this story has t been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)