Attempt bomb blast at Najaf shrine & assassination on Ayat Sistani failed

According to the Iraqi security official, gunmen also intended to assassinate prominent Iraqi religious authorities, including Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Al-Sistani.

The Iraqi security official in an interview with Baghdad International News Agency (WAB) said after discovering the plot, Iraqi security forces arrested 30 gunmen, mostly in northern regions of Babil province in central Iraq.

According to the Baghdad International News Agency (WAB), the arrested individuals are implicated in a string of terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Babil province and elsewhere.
 
The arrested individuals have also admitted that they intended to blow up the holy shrine of the first Shiite Imam, Imam Ali-Ebne- Abi-Taleb (Peace be upon him), in the holy city of Najaf.

In other news, Iraqi security forces have arrested 15 wanted terrorists, along with large quantities of weaponry and explosives, to the east of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq./AHM