A Kenyan man has been charged with plotting a Sept. 11-style hijacking attack in the U.S., and had allegedly prepared by obtaining pilot training in the Philippines, federal prosecutors said in court documents unsealed Wednesday.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a suspected operative of the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab, had been in the custody of Philippine authorities on local charges before being transported Tuesday to the U.S., where he now faces six terror-related offenses.
In his first court appearance Wednesday in New York, Abdullah pleaded not guilty and was ordered detained.
“This case, which involved a plot to use an aircraft to kill innocent victims, reminds us of the deadly threat that radical Islamic terrorists continue to pose to our nation," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.