A senior Kata’ib Hizballah commander, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, has been arrested and brought into U.S. custody on multiple terrorism charges tied to nearly 20 international attacks and plots against American and allied targets.
The Justice Department announced the arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi national and senior operative in Kata’ib Hizballah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Authorities say a complaint unsealed today charges him with six terrorism-related offenses connected to his work with Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was presented before a federal magistrate in Manhattan and ordered detained pending trial after being transferred into U.S. custody.
According to the charging documents, Al-Saadi faces a range of counts and penalties including conspiring to provide material support to Kata’ib Hizballah and to the IRGC, each carrying up to 20 years; conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism, attempting and conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, and bombing public places, carrying up to 15 years; providing material support for acts of terrorism, up to 15 years; conspiring to bomb a place of public use with a possible life term; and attempted destruction of property by fire or explosive, which includes a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. The complaint alleges his role in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks spanning Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the arrest as the product of coordinated law enforcement work and strong legal tools. “Thanks to the dedication and vigilance of law enforcement, this alleged terrorist commander is now in U.S. custody,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As alleged in the complaint, Al-Saadi directed and urged others to attack U.S. and Israeli interests and to kill Americans and Jews in the U.S. and abroad, and in doing so advance the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. These charges show American law enforcement will never let such evil go unchecked and will use all tools to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations and their leaders.”
Investigators say Al-Saadi is a commander for Kata’ib Hizballah and closely tied to Iran’s IRGC, which trains, funds, equips, and directs proxy groups across the region through the IRGC Qods Force. The complaint further alleges Al-Saadi worked with senior IRGC-QF figures, including Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis prior to their deaths in a U.S. airstrike, and that he coordinated plots that targeted American communities and institutions abroad.
FBI leadership hailed the operation as a major success in counterterrorism work and international cooperation. “The FBI’s successful FTOC of Mohammad Al-Saadi, another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism, is just the latest success in this administration’s historic work to bring terrorists to justice,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This was a righteous mission executed brilliantly by our agents, investigators, CIRG tactical units and interagency partners who delivered yet again. We are greatly appreciative of the work of our allies around the world—especially to Ambassador Tom Barrack, who led this joint sequenced operation and has been instrumental in bringing this successful mission home to the United States.”
The complaint includes chilling examples of Al-Saadi’s online activity allegedly encouraging violence and retribution for the deaths of his leaders. On or about July 2, 2020, Al-Saadi published on one of his social media accounts the following image of the U.S. Capitol in rubble projected against the faces of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, with the text “our revenge for the martyred leaders is ongoing. No negotiations with the occupier.” In or about February 2026, Al-Saadi posted a message in Arabic which read in part, “Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.”
Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi and an affiliated component, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, planned and claimed responsibility for at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe and two attacks in Canada over recent months. For example, on or about March 15, 2026, an attack involving explosives was carried out against the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, and the following day Al-Saadi posted a propaganda video of the attack in which Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya claimed responsibility and included messaging that read: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful This is the Final Warning[.] To all the peoples of the world, especially in the European Union, Immediately distance yourselves [] from all American and Zionist interests, facilities, and what is affiliated with them.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg emphasized the scope and intent prosecutors attribute to the defendant. “As alleged, Al-Saadi coordinated a wave of attacks across Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American communities and interests,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The complaint further alleges that Al-Saadi discussed attacking locations in New York, California, and Arizona and presented a serious threat to our national security. We will continue to work closely with international partners to hold terrorists accountable in U.S. courts.”
The complaint points to additional violent acts alleged to be linked to Al-Saadi and his associates, including an arson at a synagogue in Skopje, North Macedonia on or about April 12, 2026, and a subsequent April 16 video showing the site with a red target symbol. On or about April 29, 2026, two Jewish men were stabbed and seriously injured in London, and prosecutors say Al-Saadi continued to push and publicize violent operations across the region.
Allegations also involve direct efforts to mount attacks on U.S. soil and to recruit or task operatives for those missions. On or about April 3, 2026, Al-Saadi communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer he believed could strike in the United States, sending photographs and maps of a prominent New York synagogue and two other Jewish institutions in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, and discussing whether an improvised explosive device would be used or whether the plan would be to “set the place on fire.” Fortunately, no attacks occurred from those specific communications.
U.S. prosecutors noted the case arose from a broad interagency investigation led by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and supported by federal, state, and international partners. The charges in the complaint are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
