FBI thwarts a terrorist plot to assassinate former US President Bush

FBI foils terror plot to assassinate former US President Bush An Islamic State sympathiser planned to murder former US President George W Bush but the plot was discovered by the FBI, US authorities have revealed.

The suspect, a resident of Ohio, allegedly sought to have Iraqi operatives smuggled into the US from Mexico for the operation. The FBI claims that Mr Shihab told a confidential source, a purported people smuggler, that he belonged to a group known as Al-Raed - Arabic for thunder - which is based in Qatar.

In conversations with the FBI source, Mr Shihab said he wished to murder Mr Bush for “killing many Iraqis” and “breaking apart” Iraq. Two people he hoped to smuggle in to the US were described as former Iraqi intelligence agents with experience in assassination operations.

Mr Shihab allegedly told the sources he hoped to use the people smuggling service to bring Islamic State members into the US, though he is not accused of being a member of the terror group.