US Charges Alleged Iran-Backed Kataib Hezbollah Suspect

A 32-year-old Iraqi national has been charged with involvement in at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi was unsealed in a Manhattan federal court on Friday as a suspect in an international terror plot.

According to US court filings, the alleged attacks were carried out in response to recent military actions against Iran by the US and Israel. The FBI has confirmed that al-Saadi, described as a senior commander of an Iran-backed armed group, was arrested overseas and brought to the US.

FBI Director Kash Patel stated that al-Saadi is considered a high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism. Al-Saadi was arrested in conjunction with a joint operation led by US Ambassador Tom Barrack in Turkey.

Prosecutors have identified al-Saadi as a high-level leader within Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraq-based fighter group designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US. The FBI alleges that al-Saadi has been an active member of the group since at least 2017 and worked closely with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to advance its regional operations.

Court documents outline a series of international plots directed by al-Saadi, including attacks in Amsterdam, Toronto, London, and Paris. Al-Saadi allegedly coordinated these attacks using teenage suspects and was involved in the planning of simultaneous attacks on US soil.

Al-Saadi appeared in court on Friday, where he was charged with six federal counts. He did not enter a plea and will remain jailed pending a bail hearing. His defence lawyer stated that al-Saadi claims to be a “political prisoner”.

Source: Al Jazeera