In his introduction to the international scene Thursday, Iraq's new prime minister told a gaggle of journalists at the U.N. that his country had discovered an "imminent" attack plot by Islamic State fighters against "subway systems in United States and Paris."

Via AP:

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he was told of the plot by Baghdad, and that it was the work of foreign fighters of the Islamic State group in Iraq. Asked if the attacks were imminent, he said, "Yes."

Asked if the attacks had been thwarted, he said, "No." Al-Abadi said the United States had been alerted.

There is plenty to be skeptical about in this short account.

First, Iraqi intelligence—and the government's public claims about its intelligence—has always faced credibility problems, as when they erroneously claimed to have captured or killed Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a supposed Islamic State in Iraq leader, on at least three occasions from 2007 to 2010.

Second, the timing of the report is convenient, given the recent intensification of U.S.-led attacks against ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria, and al-Abadi's recent ascension to power. The claim to have found a direct link between ISIS and attack plans in the West could lend credibility both to the bombing campaign and to al-Abadi's nascent regime.

[Photo credit: AP Images]