Iran-backed terror suspects plotted attack on US troops using vans packed with fuel, DOJ says
Three suspected Iran-backed terrorists plotted an attack on a British air base housing American troops using vans carrying barrels of fuel, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday by the Justice Department (DOJ).
- UK POLICE ARREST 'EXPLOSIVE' SUSPECTS NEAR US AIRBASE, KEY TO IRAN WAR Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi helped coordinate the operation while imprisoned in New York awaiting trial on separate terrorism charges, using telephone calls with family members in Iraq to relay coded messages to his co-conspirators.
- IRAN UNDER SCRUTINY AFTER PLOT FOILED NEAR UK BASE USED BY US MILITARY According to the indictment, Al-Hassani directed associates in the United Kingdom to conduct surveillance of RAF Fairford in August, paying one individual to record video of the base's perimeter.
- 24 call, Al-Saadi allegedly asked about Al-Hassani and instructed relatives to "give him [al-Hassani] money so we can do it." The alleged plot followed a series of attacks across Europe in March and April that prosecutors say the defendants helped organize on behalf of an Iran-aligned terrorist network.
The suspects' associates later obtained three vans and barrels of fuel, researched chemical accelerants and purchased metal objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel, prosecutors said.
They also disguised the vans with commercial decals to resemble vehicles belonging to fuel delivery and swimming pool supply businesses.
- Prosecutors previously accused him of helping direct approximately 18 attacks in Europe and attempting to coordinate an attack on a Manhattan synagogue.
- The eight-count superseding indictment charges Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani with terrorism-related offenses tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Kata'ib Hizballah.
- "Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release.
- The three defendants face charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, financing terrorism and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use.
- 26, Al-Hassani allegedly directed associates to drive the three vans toward the base.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →