Court documents show that an Iraqi national who entered the United States in 2020 on a visitor visa plotted to smuggle “at least four Iraqi nationals” across the southern border between the United States and Mexico to assassinate former president George W. Bush.
According to court documents, 53-year-old Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab and other Iraqi nationals wanted to kill the former president over their belief that Bush was “responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the entire country of Iraq” due to the launch of “Operation of Iraqi Freedom.”
As a result of the assassination plot, Shihab was charged with attempting to “provide material support and resources” to terrorists and was sentenced last year to over 14 years in prison.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News, Shihab previously supported al Qaeda as a gun runner during the Iraq war. The Iraqi national reportedly transported weapons from Syria to Iraq and helped smuggle explosives that were used as traps against Americans.
Court documents released by a United States District Court in Ohio claim that Shihab first entered the United States on a visitor visa in September of 2020 and worked for various restaurants and markets in Ohio. Shihab filed an asylum claim in March of 2021, which was still pending review prior to his arrest.
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The court documents claim that Shihab’s assassination plot involved two former Iraqi intelligence agents who would have been tasked with carrying out the assassination after Shihab gathered intelligence on the former president’s home in Texas. Shihab reportedly planned to smuggle “at least four Iraqi nationals” over the border between the United States and Mexico.
While planning the assassination of the former president, Shihab unknowingly disclosed his plan to an unidentified Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant known as “CS1.” Court documents claim that Shihab told the FBI informant that “he wanted to be involved in the actual attack and assassination of former president Bush.” Shihab added that he would be “proud” to give his life in the assassination attempt.
In 2021, Shihab believed he had smuggled a member of ISIS into the United States for $40,000; however, court documents show that “in reality, the individual was fictitious, and the interaction was coordinated under the direction of the FBI.”
The court documents note that multiple recorded meetings were held between the Iraqi national and “CS1” from April of 2021 to May of 2022. With “CS1” accompanying him, Shihab also conducted surveillance of the former president’s home in February of 2022. Shihab was later arrested by the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force in May of 2022.
According to Fox News, Shihab could face deportation after the completion of his prison sentence. The Iraqi national will also remain under supervised release for the rest of his life.
