Iraq foils 9/11-style plot against Shiite shrine
Qaeda militants planned to fly planes into Imam Ali mosque
Iraqi securtiy forces disrupted an attempt to bomb the Imam Ali shrine in the holy city of Najaf, using an airplane in attacks planned to resemple the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S., Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday.
According to Al Arabiya reporter Zeinab Bilal, members of al-Qaeda were planning to hijack an airplane after it took off from Najaf airport and fly it into the dome of the Shiite shrine in a scenario similar to the 9/11 attacks.
Security officials said they temporarily shut down at least two airports and have arrested two men -- one of the intended pilots and an airport worker -- suspected in the plot, which appeared aimed at undermining the country's stability while U.S. troops prepare to go home.
The gold-domed Imam Ali shrine is one of the most revered Shiite religious mosques in the world
Najaf airport, 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, was shut on April 7 on orders from the transport ministry citing security concerns.
The airport remains closed because of its proximity to the shrine, but Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters in Najaf that it "will be reopened soon, after discussing the needed security measures."
Around 800 people use the airport each day, most of them from Shiite-majority Iran and Bahrain, according to aviation officials
Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters in Najaf that the airport "will be reopened soon, after discussing the needed security measures." He said the intelligence about the attacks is unclear but "at the same time, we can't neglect them."
But numbers surge during major festivals such as Ashura, when pilgrims flock to the Imam Ali shrine.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for a recent violence in Baghdad, and security officials believe the terror network is trying to regroup during the political disarray left by the March 7 parliamentary elections, which failed to produce a clear winner.
The alleged plot also comes as American forces plan to send home all but 50,000 troops by Aug. 31, with the rest scheduled to follow by the end of 2011 as required by a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement.