Iraqi national charged in alleged plot targeting Jewish sites, US interests

An Iraqi national has been arrested and charged in the United States over an alleged multi-country terror plot involving attacks across Europe, Canada and the U.S., including planned strikes against Jewish sites and public facilities.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on May 15 in federal court in Manhattan, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi is accused of plotting at least 18 attacks in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. The alleged incidents include the firebombing of a bank in Amsterdam and stabbing attacks on Jewish men in London, the Associated Press reports. 

U.S. prosecutors allege Al-Saadi sought to target a synagogue in New York City last month and provided an undercover law enforcement officer with photographs and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, which he intended to attack.

He is also accused of involvement in recent attacks in Canada, including an assault on a synagogue and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March. Prosecutors said he directed and encouraged others to attack U.S. and Israeli interests, including killing Americans and Jews.

According to the complaint, Al-Saadi used social media platforms such as Snapchat and Telegram to discuss and promote the alleged attacks and spoke in recorded phone calls with an FBI informant he had recruited to assist in planning operations inside the United States.

Al-Saadi, 32, is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militant group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, as well as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Prosecutors allege he served as a commander within Kata’ib Hizballah.

He also faces charges of conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use. If convicted, he could face a life sentence.

FBI Director Kash Patel described Al-Saadi as a “high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism” and said his arrest was the result of “a righteous mission executed brilliantly” by U.S. law enforcement and partner agencies.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department worked with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, said the case “puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah.”

Al-Saadi appeared in court without entering a plea and smiled during his initial appearance, according to reports. He remains in custody and may later apply for bail.

Through his attorney, Andrew Dalack, he has denied the allegations, calling himself a political prisoner. He said he is being persecuted due to his association with Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020.

Dalack also said Al-Saadi was arrested in Türkiye and transferred to U.S. custody, and noted that he has been held in solitary confinement since arriving at a federal jail in Brooklyn.

According to prosecutors, Al-Saadi and associates allegedly coordinated attacks under the banner of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a faction linked to Kata’ib Hizballah, following the escalation of conflict beginning Feb. 28.

The complaint details alleged operations including the bombing of a Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam in mid-March and a thwarted attack on a Bank of America office in Paris on March 28, where police reportedly discovered a homemade explosive device.

Al-Saadi is also alleged to have celebrated a prior explosion outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam via Snapchat, sharing an Ashab al-Yamin-branded video showing the blast and suspects fleeing on a motorcycle.

In one alleged message related to planned U.S. attacks, he told an undercover officer: “I wanna see good news tonight [...] not tomorrow bro,” according to the complaint.

Authorities say he offered $10,000 in cryptocurrency for coordinated attacks on Jewish sites in New York, Arizona and California, and made an initial $3,000 payment for the planned synagogue attack.

By Sabina Mammadli