Around October 7th: Iranian plan for mass attack on Israelis in Sri Lanka revealed
Plot involved targeting Israeli tourists and Jewish businessmen in NYC; mastermind recruited operatives from prison cells.
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An indictment filed over the weekend in the United States revealed that Iran planned a mass shooting attack on Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka near the anniversary of the October 7th massacre, and also attempted to assassinate two Jewish businessmen because of their prominent pro-Israel activities on social media.
The FBI foiled a plan by Iranian agents to assassinate American and Israeli targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the indictment, a man named Farhad Shaqiri, who was attached to the planning of the attackers, was responsible for carrying out an attack in Sri Lanka, especially in the Arugam Bay area, a popular tourist destination among Israelis.
On October 23, the governments of Israel and the United States issued a joint warning of a real threat of an attack in the area, and a day later three suspects, including Shaqiri's aide, were arrested.
An FBI investigation revealed that Shaqiri and his aide met when they were serving time together in a Sri Lankan prison, and even before planning the attack, Shaqiri asked him to also monitor the Israeli consulate in the island nation.
Shaqiri and his aide were part of a plan to cause many casualties among Israeli tourists, especially in light of the congestion in Arugam Bay and around the date of the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.