ISIS is planning an attack on New York and Paris subways with homegrown militants, claims Iraqi PM as blind-sided American officials say they know NOTHING about plot
- Haider al-Abadi claimed Iraqi intelligence officials uncovered a terror plot
- Said U.S. and French nationals are being trained to attack home countries
- Abadi said intelligence was credible but was 'not sure' if attack is imminent
- But America's National Security Council quickly knocked down the claims
- Spokesperson said there is no evidence to suggest information is accurate
Intelligence officials from the United States have been stunned by claims by the Iraqi Prime Minister that ISIS militants are planning to carry out terror attacks on the New York and Paris subways.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi today claimed to have received 'credible' information from intelligence officials in Baghdad that foreign fighters belonging to ISIS were plotting attacks.
Asked if the attacks had been thwarted, he said, 'No' but added that America had been alerted.
The U.S. National Security Council was quick to say there was no evidence to suggest any such plot exists but adding it would look into any evidence.
The statement was echoed by numerous US officials in a move that suggests the authorities are skeptical of the claims by a man who has much to gain from an intensified military campaign against ISIS.
Threat: Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he was told of the plot by intelligence officials in Baghdad, and that it was the work of extremists originally from the U.S. and France who have been fighting for ISIS
Radicals: ISIS supporters slogans as they carry the group's flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, Iraq. Militants in the country are suspected of plotting the New York and Paris attacks
National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden said: 'We have not confirmed such a plot, and would have to review any information from our Iraqi partners before making further determinations We take any threat seriously and always work to corroborate information we receive from our partners.'
Mr Abadi made his remarks at a meeting with journalists on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York today.
He said that the suspects included Islamic extremists originally from the United States and France who have been fighting alongside ISIS terrorists in Iraq.
'Today, while I am here, I am receiving accurate reports from Baghdad where there was [the] arrest of [a] few elements and there are networks planning from inside Iraq to have attacks,' he said.
'They plan to have attacks in the metros of Paris and the U.S.,' he added, speaking in English. 'From the details I have received, yes it looks credible.'
'They are not Iraqis. Some of them are French, some of them are Americans. But they are in Iraq,' Mr Abadi went on to say.
His claims were quickly slapped down by U.S. officials, however.
'We’ve seen the reports of Prime Minister Abadi’s comments. We have not confirmed such a plot, and would have to review any information from our Iraqi partners before making further determinations,' said Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council.
'We take any threat seriously and always work to corroborate information we receive from our partners. We’re obviously very focused on the issue of foreign fighters, as you saw evidenced yesterday at the Security Council session the President chaired, she added.
Force: A handout picture made available by the US Department of Defense today shows a formation of US Navy F-18E Super Hornets refueling having carried out airstrikes on targets linked to ISIS
Allies: Last Friday French President Francois Hollande (left) ordered his country's air force to carry out attacks on ISIS targets in Iraq. In doing so, France joined a 'broad coalition' of nations agreeing to support plans by U.S. president Barack Obama (right) to 'degrade and eventually destroy' the terrorist group
Strikes: A U.S.-led coalition opened airstrikes inside Syria on Monday, expanding weeks of attacks by the United States on Islamic State targets in Iraq
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The Iraqi Prime Minister said that he received the information from intelligence officials based in Baghdad earlier this morning.
In addition to the brutality Islamic State has visited on the people of Iraq and Syria, western leaders have voiced concern that the group would turn its terror operations outside the region.
A U.S.-led coalition opened airstrikes inside Syria on Monday, expanding weeks of attacks by the United States on Islamic State targets in Iraq.
A fresh wave of airstrikes from the United States and its Arab allies hit ISIS oil refineries overnight, killing at least 14 militants and striking at the heart of the terror group's funding.
ISIS generates up to $2million a day from the sale of oil, employing highly trained engineers to extract thousands of barrels a day from the vast swaths of Syria and Iraq under the terror group's control
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