FBI probing threat to crash airplane into U.S. Capitol to avenge Iranian general’s assassination – Reports

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the crashing by unknown persons, of radio frequencies used by U.S. air traffic controllers, to broadcast a threat to fly an airplane into U.S. Capitol in revenge for the assassination of prominent Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

U.S. broadcaster CBS news reported this on Wednesday.

Congress is due to convene for a meeting later in the day to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

“We are flying a plane into the Capitol Wednesday.

“Soleimani will be avenged,” what sounded like an electronically generated male voice said on the audio recording, published by CBS.

According to the broadcaster, citing sources, while the threat is not treated as credible by the U.S. government, it is being investigated as a breach of aviation frequencies.

The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration, in particular, are looking into the threat and have reportedly asked air traffic controllers to report any unusual activity.

Soleimani was the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.

On Jan. 3 last year, Soleimani was killed in a drone attack by U.S. troops near the airport of Baghdad, as ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Washington held him responsible for an attack on the U.S embassy in the Iraqi capital several days before that.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani likened outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and repeated the Iranian regime’s vow to avenge the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, in a speech on Dec. 31.

“Trump was like Saddam.

“Saddam imposed eight years of war on us and was overthrown and Trump imposed three years of economic war on us, (and) he will be overthrown in the coming weeks.

“He will be a disgraceful person in history because of the crimes and oppression he committed,” Rouhani said. (AFP)