Iran-backed militant helped plot attack on UK’s Fairford base from US jail, Justice Department says

NEW YORK: A member of an Iran-backed militia plotted to attack the RAF Fairford air base in Britain while detained in the US on criminal charges, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi attempted to pass coded ⁠messages to two ⁠other alleged Iran-backed operatives through phone calls to immediate family members from jail in New York, prosecutors said.

Al-Saadi had previously pleaded ⁠not guilty to eight criminal counts including conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia the US considers a terrorist organization.

A lawyer for Al-Saadi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.