NBC News reports the man removed from an Aeromexico flight bound for Mexico City Sunday was the subject of a terror warning issued for the U.S.-Mexico border last week, senior U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News on Monday.
Homeland Security had asked law enforcement in Houston to be on the lookout for a suspected member of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida ally based in Somalia, early last week, the sources said.
The man was thought to be headed for the United States via Mexico.
On Sunday, an Aeromexico flight from Paris was diverted to Montreal, where the man was detained.
Canadian authorities on Monday identified the man as Abdirahman Ali Gaall and that he would have his first court hearing on Wednesday.
Gaall is a Somali national but holds resident status in the United States, the counterterrorism sources said. His wife is an American citizen, said one official. He did not have the couple’s address in the United States.
The Canada Border Services Agency confirmed Monday that Gaall was on a U.S. no-fly list and said the man was known to them.
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Note: Currently, it does not appear that this is same individual mentioned in the KHOU news report from 2 weeks ago.
In that report, KHOU reported that a Homeland Security Alert was asking Houston police to keep their eyes open for a potential terror suspect, however that alert focused on a man identified as Mohamed Ali, also a suspected member of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. It indicated he may be traveling to the U.S. through Mexico.
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