Kenyan Man Sentenced to Two Life Terms in U.S for Plotting 9/11-Style Terror Attack on Atlanta Skyscraper
A Kenyan citizen has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison by a United States federal court after being found guilty of planning a major terrorist attack similar to the September 11 attacks. Authorities said he intended to hijack a passenger aircraft and crash it into the Bank of America Plaza, which is the tallest building in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to U.S. prosecutors, investigations showed that the plan was already advancing, with the suspect gathering extensive information about aviation security, flight procedures, and possible targets in the city.
Court documents revealed that the man joined the Somali-based militant group al-Shabaab in 2015 and underwent about a year of military training. He was later selected by senior leaders of the group to take part in an international attack and was instructed to train as a commercial airline pilot.
Between 2017 and 2019, he attended a flight school in the Philippines, receiving both theoretical and practical flying lessons. Investigators said the training was funded by al-Shabaab through illegal activities and extortion. By the time he was arrested, he had completed nearly all the requirements needed to qualify as a commercial airline pilot.
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During this period, authorities said he conducted detailed online research, including studying how cockpit doors work, airline security systems, transit visa rules, and possible ways to smuggle weapons onto planes. He also reviewed previous hijacking incidents and regularly reported his training progress to his handlers, emphasizing that having a trained pilot inside the cockpit was crucial for the attack.
Investigators added that his planning intensified after al-Shabaab carried out an attack on a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya. He reportedly researched Delta Air Lines flights and searched for information about Atlanta’s tallest buildings, focusing on the Bank of America Plaza as a potential target.
He was arrested in the Philippines in July 2019 before the plan could be carried out and was later handed over to U.S. authorities. During questioning, officials said he confessed that he was training to hijack a plane on behalf of al-Shabaab and expected mass casualties, including his own death.
A U.S. federal jury later found him guilty of six terrorism-related charges, including providing support to a terrorist organization, planning aircraft piracy, and conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens. In addition to the two life sentences, he also received a lifetime term of supervised release.
Kenyan Man Sentenced to Two Life Terms in U.S for Plotting 9/11-Style Terror Attack on Atlanta Skyscraper
