Federal prosecutors say an Iraqi commander with suspected ties to the pro-Iran HAYI network orchestrated a plot to carry out coordinated terrorist attacks in multiple U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Scottsdale, Arizona, targeting Jewish institutions and American interests.
According to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan, the suspect, identified as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, is accused of directing an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a recruit to prepare bombings on U.S. soil as part of a wider campaign against American and Israeli targets.
Prosecutors allege that al-Saadi sought surveillance, logistical support, and potential attack sites in dense urban areas, focusing on locations associated with Jewish communities and U.S. financial institutions, according to NBC News.
He was transferred to U.S. custody and made an initial appearance in a New York federal courtroom, where a judge ordered him held without bail on terrorism-related charges.
Court filings describe al-Saadi as a commander within Kata'ib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization aligned with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and say investigators are probing his suspected role in a broader operation fronted by HAYI, or Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
U.S. authorities allege HAYI has acted as a cover brand for attacks claimed against Jewish sites and Western financial institutions in Europe and North America since early March.
Officials say the working assessment among Western security services is that HAYI functions as part of a pro-Iran network that uses deniable online channels and hired operatives to strike symbolic targets.
The Justice Department says al-Saadi is linked to at least 18 terrorist incidents in Europe and two in Canada that targeted Jewish communities and American businesses, including an arson attack on an American bank branch in Amsterdam and a foiled plot against a Bank of America office in Paris.
European and French authorities have said they suspect HAYI's involvement in several of those incidents, while cautioning that some links remain under active investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported.
None of the attacks claimed by or attributed to HAYI in Europe has caused casualties so far, but officials say the incidents have heightened security around synagogues, Jewish schools, and U.S.-linked financial institutions.
In the U.S. case, al-Saadi is charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to support acts of terrorism, conspiracy to bomb public places, and attempted destruction of property using explosives.
Prosecutors allege that his goal was to extend HAYI's campaign beyond Europe by coordinating "low-intensity" yet high-impact attacks inside the United States, leveraging online recruitment and encrypted communications to enlist would-be attackers.
If convicted on all counts, al-Saadi faces a potential life sentence in federal prison, and investigators say they are continuing to examine his communications to identify additional suspects and potential plots, as per Fox News.
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