Iraqi Ministry of Interior stated Sunday that it has foiled the "biggest terror plot" by the Islamic State (IS) organization which meant to target Shi'ite sacred shines in Iraq.
IS had plans to attack the Shi'ite imam shrines in Najaf, Karbala and Samara, Abu Ali Basri, the director of Hawks Cell of the Iraqi Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Service, was cited in the media reports as saying.
There were also plans to target the house of the grand Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, as well as the grand mosques of Kufa and Basra.
The plot, masterminded by IS foreign commanders, aimed at inciting sectarian violence to cover the IS defeats, Basri stated.
He added the plot was foiled through a counter-terrorism operation by the Joint Operations Forces which was carried out within Iraqi and Syrian borders. The F16 fighter jets were also used in the operation.
The Iraqi army's offensive on Sunday afternoon targeted seven big gathering of the extremists and their car bombs in Mayadin of Syria and the Iraqi town of Qaim which borders Syria. According to Basri, tens of jihadists were killed in the operation.
The plot was meant to be carried out through a number of VBIED, tens of foreign and Arab IS suicide-bombers with the support of smugglers who transported arms and ammunitions to the extremists in the cities.
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