USA: Iraqi citizen arrested for plotting to assassinate President Bush
Shihab Ahmad Shihab told an FBI agent that he was part of a group that "wants to kill former President Bush because he is responsible for killing many Iraqis and destroying the entire Iraqi state."
News agencies
25/05/2022
Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 15:12 Updated: 15:17
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An Iraqi citizen living in Columbus, Ohio, was arrested yesterday (Tuesday) on charges of conspiracy to assassinate former United States President George W. Bush.
Bush, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Shihab Ahmad Shihab Shihab, 52, is charged with aiding and abetting the assassination attempt of a former senior official in the U.S. administration, as well as an immigration crime for his attempt to illegally bring foreign nationals to the United States.
According to the Ministry of Justice, Shihab planned to smuggle four Iraqis as part of the conspiracy.
The court documents obtained by CNN describe a collection of information that included a trip to the neighborhood where Bush lived in Dallas, Texas.
The investigation also revealed that on March 23, an application was received for a phone search warrant from a man identified on screens as Yahav Ahmad Shihab, who entered the United States in September 2020.
The FBI revealed the conspiracy through secret informants, one of whom recorded conversations about the assassination plot with Shihab at meetings late last year until spring.
It does not appear that the former president was at any point in danger.
At a November meeting, Shihab apparently told an FBI informant that "they want to kill former President Bush because they felt he was responsible for the killing of many Iraqis and the destruction of the entire Iraqi state."
In January, it was recorded that Yahav describes himself as "a soldier waiting for instructions from the leadership in Qatar."
He also said he was part of a group called Al Raid, or "Thunder."
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Former United States President George W. Bush
Bush (Photo: Reuters)
According to the documents, Shihab told the informant that "the Al Raid group planned to assassinate former President Bush regardless of ISIS, but he hopes ISIS will approve and cooperate with the assassination."
In February, Shihab and the informant toured the Bush neighborhood of Dallas and Shihab filmed videos of the entrance gate to the neighborhood and the surrounding area.
They also traveled to the George W. Bush Institute to tour the area.
In 2021, federal investigators tracked down Shihab who wanted to help smuggle people into the United States, according to the documents.
He talked about the money he would get - $ 40,000 - if a man smuggled from Mexico to the United States.
He got up and talked about smuggling others, including two people with ties to Hezbollah, investigators said.
A hearing in the case is expected to take place Friday afternoon, the Ohio District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
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