(NEW YORK) — An Iraqi national carried out 20 reported terrorist attacks in Europe and Canada against U.S. and Israeli interests, including the stabbing of a Jewish-American citizen, in retaliation for the war in Iran and in an effort to halt the conflict, a federal criminal complaint alleges.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi allegedly firebombed a Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam, tried to detonate improvised explosives at the Bank of America building in Paris, coordinated an attack against Jewish institutions in the United States and stabbed two people in London, the complaint alleges.
The defendant made an initial appearance Friday in Manhattan federal court on charges he conspired to provide material support to terrorist groups, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use and other offenses.
Al-Saadi was apprehended in Turkey and passed to American authorities. His lawyer, Andrew Dalack, a federal defender, said he was unaware of any extradition proceedings.
“This is a bit of an unusual case,” Dalack said.
During his appearance, Al-Saadi spoke quietly, but animatedly, to his lawyer to make sure the lawyer understood his connection to the late Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq, and referred to himself as a prisoner of war and political prisoner.
Al-Saadi was ordered detained. He is next in court May 29.
Federal prosecutors said in addition to the terror attacks in Europe and Canada, al-Saadi also allegedly spoke to an FBI undercover — and paid $3,000 — to plan attacks in California, Arizona and a synagogue in Manhattan.
Al-Saadi is a high-level member of the Kata’ib Hizballah paramilitary group and has ties to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, according to federal prosecutors.
Since the onset of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, Al-Saadi “has directed and urged others to attack U.S. and Israeli interests, including by killing Americans and Jews, in retaliation for the Iranian Military Conflict and to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC,” the criminal complaint alleges.
The complaint adds, “Al-Saadi and his associates have planned, coordinated, and claimed responsibility for at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe as well as two additional attacks in Canada, in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a component of Kata’ib Hizballah.”
The defendant allegedly pledged thousands of dollars to someone he thought would carry out an attack against a synagogue in New York, according to prosecutors. The individual turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer.
At least one associate of al-Saadi is expected to be brought back to the U.S. and charged, the complaint says.
“This case puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah — Foreign Terrorist Organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we disrupted a plan to attack a Manhattan synagogue, and in partnership with the synagogue’s leadership, ensured its security when the threat was elevated.”
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