Iraq: Plot to Bomb US, European Countries Revealed

BAGHDAD — Two senior Iraqi officials say the government has obtained confessions from captured insurgents who claim al-Qaida is planning suicide attacks in the United States and Europe during the Christmas season.

Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the botched bombing in central Stockholm last weekend was among the alleged plots the insurgents revealed.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in an interview from New York, called the claims "a critical threat."

Both al-Bolani and Zebari said Iraq has informed Interpol of the threat, and alerted authorities in the U.S. and European countries of the possible danger.

Neither official mentioned specific countries in Europe that are allegedly being targeted.