The wave of violence attributed to Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi has caused huge concern in many European countries but especially the UK, where Jewish community centres, charities, synagogues and other sites have been targeted in recent weeks.
The justice department announced the arrest of al-Saadi on Friday. He faces six terrorism-related charges tied to his alleged role as an operative for the Iraqi paramilitary group Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated by the US as terrorist organizations.
Al-Saadi, who was transferred into United States custody overseas before being brought to the US, appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
The charges filed against him include conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives.
The justice department’s complaint alleges that al-Saadi worked closely with Qassem Suleimani, the former IRGC commander who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020.
Photographs included in the complaint appear to show al-Saadi with Suleimani, who set up multiple networks of operatives and militia across the Middle East and beyond to carry out clandestine attacks.
