ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s judiciary said Tuesday that it collaborated with Germany to help thwart a “terrorist plot” in Hamburg by exchanging information on an alleged plan to attack civilian gatherings in the city, which it said was in an “advanced stage of preparation.”

“The international judicial cooperation and information exchange with Germany contributed to thwarting a dangerous terrorist plot in Hamburg,” Iraq’s judiciary communication center said in a statement.

The plot was “in an advanced stage of preparation,” the statement said, adding that it was initially aimed at attacking civilian gatherings in the city.

The Iraqi judiciary described the cooperation as an “exchange of highly important information and evidence between the two sides,” which led Germany to take immediate measures to prevent the attack.

Baghdad has in recent years expanded efforts to combat terrorism, drug trafficking networks, and human trafficking in cooperation with international and regional partners, with Iraqi authorities saying the government is seeking to strengthen its counterterrorism strategy for 2026-2030.

Regarding Baghdad’s international counterterrorism efforts, Judge Ali Hussein Jafat said the success of such operations reflects the importance of joint judicial and security coordination in preventing attacks, especially “before they occur,” according to a judiciary statement.

The operation followed a directive from the head of the Iraqi judiciary on “the necessity of strengthening international judicial cooperation and information exchange with friendly countries, particularly in cases related to combating terrorism and transnational organized crime.”