Kataib Hezbollah commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, who helped orchestrate attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites across Europe in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), was indicted on eight charges for attempted terrorist attacks against Jewish targets across the world, the US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Thursday.
Originally indicted with six counts in a complaint on May 15, the Iraqi and Iranian national was charged on Thursday with conspiring to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), conspiring to and providing material support for acts of terrorism, attempted acts of transnational terrorism, conspiring to bomb a public site, property destruction by means of fire or explosives, and terrorism.
The 32-year-old was allegedly involved in almost 20 attacks and plots in Europe and North America under the name of the purportedly new terrorist group HAYI, which the DoJ said was actually a front for the Iranian proxy Kataib Hezbollah. The plots included plans to carry out attacks against a New York City synagogue earlier this year.
“As alleged in this indictment, Al-Saadi has been directly involved in terrorist operations and military decisions to attack US and Israeli interests across the world and conspired with others to plan deadly attacks on American soil,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Now that he has been removed from his perch as an alleged commander of Kataib Hezbollah with close ties to the Iranian regime and its proxies around the world, we look forward to vigorously prosecuting him under American law in an American courtroom.”
Al-Saadi's social media accounts and phone allegedly contained evidence of his role in planning attacks against sites in Europe, holding video calls with perpetrators, and guiding them through the attacks step by step. In one video, the alleged arch terrorist told an attacker to "light one in your hand" and "throw" it.
Kata'ib Hezbollah commander uses videos for psychological warfare
The DoJ said that Al-Saadi recorded the video calls and had perpetrators send photos and videos, such as in the case of the April 16 Israeli embassy to London hazardous materials threats. The Kataib Hezbollah commander reportedly used the materials to create the videos he developed and published in the name of HAYI, cognizant of their role in "psychological warfare."
“[T]he most important thing is that within the psychological warfare, they [HAYI’s messages] are useful,” Al-Saadi had allegedly said. “Anything that distracts the enemy is useful.”
Al-Saadi was based in Iraq, but was detained while traveling abroad and extradited on May 14.