US Charges Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah Commander with New York Synagogue Bomb Plot

US federal prosecutors in New York, in coordination with Turkish authorities, announced on May 16 the arrest and charging of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, an Iraqi commander in the Iran-aligned Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) militia. Al-Saadi was charged with organizing at least 18 attacks and planned attacks across the United States, Canada, and Europe, including a bomb plot targeting a synagogue in New York City and Jewish community centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. Prosecutors alleged al-Saadi paid approximately $3,000 in cryptocurrency to an undercover US law enforcement officer posing as a Mexican cartel member. Al-Saadi allegedly operated a front organization called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah. The charges represented the most significant KH-linked terrorism prosecution on US soil and added significant pressure on Baghdad, as the new Zaidi government was called upon by Washington to condemn the plot. KH's political wing in Iraq — Sadiqoun party — denied al-Saadi had any connection to KH's leadership or operations and called the charges 'fabricated.'