Sources have told Al Arabiya.net that Iraqi Shiite militias belonging to Iran planned to target the Saudi ambassador in Iraq Thamer Al Sabhan, through the members of “Mourtadha Abboud Ellami” group at the behest of “Abu Mahdi Al Mouhandis” and the leaders of “Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq” and especially the groups led by Akram al-Kaabi.

The sources added that members of Mourtadha Abboud Ellami’s group, reported the plan to the Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari, giving him a deadline to expel the Saudi ambassador from the country.

Al Sabhan told Al Arabiya News these threats would not prevent him from helping Iraqi people, adding he was continuing his duties as normal, “even more than before.”

He said the Saudi embassy had taken the necessary actions and reported the issue to the Iraqi government, leaving it to bear its responsibility before the international community and its commitments.

From its part, Asharq Al Awsat newspaper said Iran was plotting to assassinate Al Sabhan using RPJ7 rockets on his armored car.

Informed sources said Iraqi Shiite militias have three plots to attack and that the militias were directly-linked to Iran.

Of these militias the sources revealed Khorasan Battalions and another group that works with the Secretary General of Abu Fadl al-Abbas Forces Ous al-Khafaji.

A source told the newspaper that each plot was different, but the operation is set to happen as soon as possible. He explained that Khorasan Battalions’ plot was uncovered, while the plot of Abu Fadl al-Abbas Forces was revealed in the past few days.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi security official revealed information that one of the assassination plots was to get rid of the ambassador, stopping his statements against Iran and its followers in Iraq. This action would therefore create a political and diplomatic issue between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the official added.

The official, who is currently visiting Beirut, said security forces were able to track the plot set by Khorasan. “We tracked phone calls between members of this militia and personnel at Baghdad International Airport who belong to the Khorasan battalions. They were alerting them about the ambassador’s travel plans from and to Baghdad.”

The official said the plan also included using fake plates matching that of the Ministry of Interior to intercept the Saudi ambassador’s barricade on the airport’s road.

The assassination was to be carried out using RPG7 missiles since the ambassador’s cars were armored. Then the cars would escape to the Sunni area Al Radwaneyye to hide its identity and blame ISIS for the attack.

The person at the airport working with "Khorasan battalion" has been captured. The official said they weren’t able to reach the whole group consisting of eight members who were in two cars.

A member confessed that an Iranian officer had come up with the plan and overlooked the execution.

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Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52