Iraqi officials have claimed that they have uncovered an al-Qaeda plot to carry out poison gas attacks in the Middle East, Europe and North America.

The attacks could have possibly been carried out by remote-controlled toy planes, which were seized at two workshops in Baghdad, the BBC reported.

Mohamed al Askari, a spokesman for Iraq’s defense ministry, said on Saturday that five suspects were detained over operations at the two facilities, where they were allegedly planning to produce sarin and mustard gas using instructions from another Al Qaeda group, according to Sky News.

The suspects had materials and formulas to make the gases, Askari said, adding that they had a network to smuggle the toxins out of Iraq, but had yet to produce any weapons.

All of the arrested men had confessed to the plot and said they had received instruction from another al-Qaeda offshoot, Askari said.

Their arrests were due to cooperation between Iraqi and foreign intelligence services.

According to the BBC, Al-Qaeda detonated 16 crude chlorine bombs in Iraq between October 2006 and June 2007.