US arrests Iraqi militia commander accused of orchestrating international terror attacks
US authorities have arrested and charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi national alleged to be a senior commander of Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, with orchestrating at least 18 attacks across the US, Canada, and Europe. A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan federal court accuses him of directing firebombings, a synagogue arson, a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto, and plotting attacks on Jewish targets in New York, California, and Arizona. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed al-Saadi was arrested overseas and brought to the US, calling him “another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism.”
US authorities have arrested and charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi national alleged to be a senior commander of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, with orchestrating at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks across the United States, Canada, and Europe, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan federal court.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that agency personnel arrested al-Saadi overseas and brought him to the US, describing him as “another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism.” In a post on X, Patel praised the operation as a “righteous mission executed brilliantly” and credited US Ambassador Tom Barrack in Turkiye for leading the joint operation.
Federal prosecutors allege the attacks were carried out to compel the US and Israel to halt military actions against Iran. The complaint accuses al-Saadi of directing a mid-March firebombing of a Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam, a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto, and a stabbing in London that wounded an American citizen. French police thwarted an attack he allegedly coordinated against a Bank of America office in Paris, discovering a homemade bomb packed with 0.65kg (23oz) of explosives.
Last month, al-Saadi allegedly turned his attention to US soil. Working with an FBI informant and an undercover law enforcement officer, he offered $10,000 in cryptocurrency to launch simultaneous attacks on a New York City synagogue and Jewish centres in California and Arizona, according to court filings. Al-Saadi told the informant he was “willing to kill people” and sent a text message to the undercover officer after making a $3,000 crypto down-payment, stating: “I wanna see good news tonight … not tomorrow bro.”
The FBI states that al-Saadi has been an active member of Kataib Hezbollah since at least 2017 and worked closely with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Investigators say he maintained personal relationships with top-tier military leaders, including the late IRGC-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
Al-Saadi appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday, smiled throughout the hearing, and did not speak. He faces six federal charges: two counts of conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organisations (Kataib Hezbollah and the IRGC), conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, provision of material support for acts of terrorism, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and destruction of property by means of fire or explosives. Through his defence lawyer, Andrew Dalack, al-Saadi claimed he is a “political prisoner” and a “prisoner of war.” Dalack noted that al-Saadi has been kept in solitary confinement since arriving at a federal jail in Brooklyn on Thursday night, calling the treatment “unusual.”
If convicted, al-Saadi faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. He was not required to enter a plea and will remain jailed, though he retains the right to request a bail hearing.