Zimnako Salah Salah, 45, of Phoenix, Arizona, United States is an Iraqi mechanic. He is a former resident of Glendale, Arizona.
Since a young age, Salah has had run-ins with authorities, a family associate told the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He had a history of making bad decisions and he might have some mental instability, the family associate added.
As shown by Salah’s social media accounts, he he had consumed extremist propaganda online. He had watched videos depicting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists murdering people.
In September 2023, Salah left a backpack inside a church in Arizona, USA. He also tried to do the same at churches in La Mesa, California, USA in October 2023 and in Colorado, USA in November 2023.
Also in November 2023, law enforcement officers found Salah to be in possession of a 9mm handgun in Texas, USA and detained him. He was fined and released.
Days later, Salah was arrested in San Diego, California. He was ordered held without bail.
On November 11, 2023, a 2008 Toyota Prius registered to Salah was seen in the parking lot of a Christian church in Roseville, California and then left. At 9:40 a.m. on November 12, 2023, he approached a side entrance of the church, poked his head through the door and entered the church from that side entrance with a backpack.
Once inside, Salah looked behind himself, walked directly to the men’s bathroom and stayed their for around 35-40 seconds. He exited the bathroom without the backpack and left the church through the same side entrance.
Salah intended to convey that the backpack contained a bomb but it turned out, it only contained a pillow. On November 28, 2023, he was arrested.
In December 2023, investigators searched Salah’s residence in Phoenix and found signs that he was trying to either hide or destroy evidence involving his hoax activities at the Christian churches. Component parts of an improvised explosive device (IED) were also found in his storage unit.
On April 3, 2025, a federal jury found Salah guilty of strapping a backpack around the toilet of a Christian church in Roseville with the intent to convey a hoax bomb threat and to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there. The verdict included a special finding he targeted the church because of the religion of the people who worshipped there, making it a hate crime.
On July 18, 2025, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins will sentence Salah. The Iraqi mechanic faces a $250,000 fine and a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
CONAN Daily 