NEW YORK CITY — Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a commander in the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, appeared in Manhattan federal court and was ordered detained pending trial after being arrested in Turkey, turned over to the FBI and transported to the United States. The 32-year-old Iraqi national faces six terrorism-related counts, according to a criminal complaint.

Al-Saadi is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to Iranian-backed groups including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Kata'ib Hizballah. He smiled during his appearance in Lower Manhattan and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The complaint alleges 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, including in retribution for the death of Qasem Soleimani, the longtime commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2020. The complaint alleges he worked closely with Soleimani and was close to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Kata'ib Hezbollah leader killed alongside Soleimani.

Since March 9, al-Saadi has been involved in the planning, execution and promotion of some 18 reported terror attacks in Europe and two in Canada against U.S. and Israeli interests, according to the complaint. The series included an explosives attack on a synagogue in Liège, Belgium; a March 13 arson at a synagogue in Rotterdam; a March 14 explosives attack at a Jewish school in Amsterdam; a March 15 firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam; and further incidents through March and April in London, Antwerp, Paris and Munich, including the April 29 stabbing of two Jewish men in London and an abortive attack on a Bank of America branch in Paris.

Al-Saadi allegedly tried to recruit an undercover agent to target a prominent U.S. synagogue, showing the agent a photo and map of its location. He was recorded on a phone call on April 1 asking how much it would cost to hire someone to carry out a bombing operation in the U.S. He told the agent, "I mean, we provide him with a Jewish temple, a Jewish centre." He provided photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, asking if it was possible to set the three locations on fire at the same time. He and the agent agreed on a price of $10,000 in cryptocurrency, and he sent $3,000 as a down payment, demanding the attack be carried out on April 6.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the arrest was an example of American law enforcement serving to "disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations and their leaders."

"He's essentially being subjected to a political prosecution in that he's a prisoner of war and should be treated as such," attorney Andrew Dalack said. Dalack said his client was "being held in solitary confinement, which we think is cruel and unnecessary."