An Islamic State sympathiser planned to murder former US President George W Bush but the plot was discovered by the FBI, US authorities have revealed.

The suspect, a resident of Ohio, allegedly sought to have Iraqi operatives smuggled into the US from Mexico for the operation.

He is now in custody and appeared at a federal court in Ohio on Tuesday.

The FBI used informants and electronic surveillance to foil his plan.

According to court documents, the suspect - identified as Shihab Ahmed Shihab, 52 - is an Iraqi national who has been in the US since 2020 and had a pending asylum application.

The FBI claims that Mr Shihab told a confidential source, a purported people smuggler, that he belonged to a group known as Al-Raed - Arabic for thunder - which is based in Qatar.