Iraqi special forces targeted an ISIS terrorist hideout in the Iraq desert and uncovered plans for an attack in the UK, according to British media.
The terror group is said to be prioritising the UK, France, Belgium and Germany for major attacks.
British news outlet, The Mirror, said it was told domestic Islamic State terrorists were planning a murderous attack at a UK public gathering.
Reportedly, General Abdul-Wahab el-Saadi, head of the elite Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, said: “We know ISIS has been talking to UK-based terrorists and we know what they are planning. It is a big attack.”
His warning came after his group apparently discovered plans for an international plot against the UK, following a recent bloody raid on an ISIS camp.
“In the past few weeks we launched major operations against Daesh, or Islamic State [ISIS], and killed large numbers of terrorists, in one raid there were about five of them, all quite senior,” Gen el-Saadi is reported as saying.
“I can tell you that from the information we found at the site of one of our recent raids, the next intended terror attack will be in the United Kingdom,” he said.
The UK cell is said to be made up of British nationals and, according to The Mirror, Western intelligence agencies are working to disarm the plot.
It’s unclear by what means such an attack might take place; Gen el-Saadi said: “I do not have those details for you except that it will, if it happens, be in a public place of the type I have described to you.
“The four priority countries [for an assault] in Europe are the UK, France, Belgium and Germany.”
Iraq is still fighting remaining elements of ISIS, which used to control large parts of the country, and significant anti-terror operations are ongoing.
Referring to Iraq’s notorious so-called Sunni triangle, Gen al-Saadi said: “Definitely, there are cells from Anbar Province up to Saladin, north of Baghdad, also south of Mosul there are cells and in the Hamrin Mountains, north-east Iraq.
“Just days ago, there was an operation in Anbar where 22 ISIS members were killed,” he added.
Most of the remaining Islamic State fighters are said to be hiding out south of Mosul and in the north-east of Iraq. Gen al-Saadi said of the combatants: “These are the hardest of the hard amongst terrorists.
“They are cruel savages, brainwashed and hell-bent on committing homicide against ordinary people. They have to be beaten and that is what we are doing. This is the front line, in Iraq.”
The UK terror threat level, set by the country’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, is currently “substantial” – meaning an attack is “likely”.
In Belgium, the threat level is at “two”, ie “medium”, and therefore a terrorist outrage is seen as a relatively low probability.
