Iraqi accused of multiple terror attacks in US and Europe arrested and charged | US news

The U.S. justice department has arrested and charged an Iraqi national accused of participating in nearly 20 alleged terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across the United States and Europe.

The wave of violence attributed to Mohammed Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi has caused great concern in many European countries, particularly in Britain, where Jewish community centres, charities, synagogues and other sites have been targeted in recent weeks.

Ministry of Justice announced Al-Saadi’s arrest on Friday. He faces six terrorism-related charges linked to his alleged role as an agent of the Iraqi paramilitary group Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both of which have been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Al-Saadi, who was sent abroad to US custody before being brought to the US, appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday. The charges against him include conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, conspiracy to bomb a public place, and attempted destruction of property by fire or explosives.

The justice department’s complaint alleges that Al-Saadi worked closely with former Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020. Photos included in the complaint show al-Saadi with Soleimani, who established a vast network of agents and militias to carry out covert attacks in the Middle East and beyond.

The ministry also said al-Saadi was close to Kata’ib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed along with Soleimani.

After their deaths, al-Saadi allegedly called for attacks against the Americans. Allegedly, in July 2020, he shared a photo with the faces of Soleimani and Engineer on social media with the following text: “The revenge of the martyred leaders continues. No negotiations with the occupier.”

The justice ministry describes al-Saadi as the commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah and alleges that the 32-year-old was involved in a firebomb attack on New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in March. The ministry claimed that a day after the attack, Al-Saadi released a propaganda video “showing various aspects of planning the attack, including maps of where the attack would take place.”

The video also included the following message: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and Merciful. This is the Last Warning.[.] Immediately keep your distance from all the people of the world, especially the European Union. [] from all American and Zionist interests, facilities and affiliates, according to the justice department complaint.

Other attacks in which the ministry alleges al-Saadi was involved include an arson attack on a synagogue in Skopje, North Macedonia, in April, as well as the stabbing of two Jewish men, including a dual US-British citizen, in London, England. The attacks prompted British prime minister Keir Starmer to describe it as a “crisis of anti-Semitism”.

Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by many on behalf of the previously unknown group Harakat Ashab al-Yemin al-Islamiye (HAYI).

Analysts and security officials said at the time that although there was no direct evidence of Iranian involvement, multiple factors strongly suggested that the attacks were part of a hybrid warfare campaign launched by Tehran to destabilize U.S. allies and warn them of the potential costs of further involvement in the conflict, while also harming Jewish communities that support Israel.

The justice ministry’s criminal complaint states that HAYI is a front designed to carry out and advance the terrorist objectives of Kata’ib Hezbollah, Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard.

It is stated that on or around March 7, 2026, after the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran in late February, Al Saadi published a message titled “Shadow soldiers” on his Snapchat account, and that this message “aimed to mobilize terrorist cells around the world to carry out attacks in support of the Revolutionary Guard and its proxies.”

The complaint cites multiple conversations between al-Saadi and an FBI source and accuses him of being involved in a botched attack on a branch of Bank of America in Paris. The operation, which involved petty criminals recruited from the French capital’s underworld by an unidentified gang boss, was openly linked to Iran by senior French officials.

The justice department also alleged that al-Saadi was acting on behalf of Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States, including targeting Jewish institutions in New York. On April 3, he allegedly communicated with an undercover police officer, identified in the complaint as UC-1, who he believed could carry out the attacks.

“That day, Al-Saadi texted UC-1 photos and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York, as well as two additional U.S.-based Jewish institutions in Los Angeles, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectively, and directed UC-1 to conduct terrorist attacks against those targets,” the justice department said.

“Al-Saadi also spoke with UC-1 on the phone and discussed with UC-1 whether UC-1 would use an improvised explosive device or ‘set the house on fire’ regarding the New York Synagogue.”

Acting U.S. attorney Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday: “Thanks to the dedication and vigilance of law enforcement, this alleged terrorist commander is now in U.S. custody.

“These charges demonstrate that American law enforcement will never allow this evil to go unchecked and will use every tool to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations and their leaders.”

Meanwhile, Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York Police Department, said in a statement: “This case clearly demonstrates the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies such as Kata’ib Hezbollah—foreign terrorist organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States since the war began.”

Tisch said his agency, in coordination with its partners, “disrupted a plot against a Manhattan synagogue.” He added that his agency and the synagogue’s leadership ensured the safety of the institution “when the threat escalated.”