ISIS operative in U.S. plotted to assassinate George W. Bush, FBI alleges

The suspect allegedly traveled to Dallas in February to surveil Bush’s residence.

FILE - U.S. President George W. Bush, reacts, after shoes were thrown at him, by a correspondent, during a joint press conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not seen, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 14, 2008. Bush is facing criticism after mistakenly describing the invasion of Iraq which he led as commander in chief as brutal and wholly unjustified, before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russias invasion of Ukraine. He added, Iraq, too anyway. The 75-year-old former president made the comment during a speech Wednesday night in Dallas, jokingly blamed the mistake on his age. (AP Photo/ Thaier al-Sudani, Pool, File) (Thaier Al-Sudani, 2008 AP)

An Iraqi citizen who entered the U.S. in September 2020 allegedly plotted to kill George W. Bush, even traveling to Dallas to surveil the former president’s home, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit obtained by NBC News.

The FBI alleges that Shihab Ahmed Shihab, of Columbus, Ohio, wanted to provide material support to ISIS, telling a confidential FBI source that he wanted to smuggle people into the country “to murder former President George W. Bush” because he held him responsible for killing numerous Iraqis in the 2003 invasion of the country.

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Forbes first reported the alleged plot. NBC News was not immediately able to find a representative of Shihab, who is in custody, to comment for this story.

Read more on NBCNews.com.