Iraqi militia commander arrested in U.S. facing terrorism charges in New York

A senior Iraqi militia commander accused of coordinating an international campaign of attacks targeting Jewish and American interests was arrested overseas and brought to the United States to face federal terrorism charges, the Justice Department announced.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood alSaadi, 32, was charged in Manhattan federal court with six counts tied to alleged activity as an operative of Kataib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization based in Iraq, and as an associate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Federal prosecutors allege he directed, encouraged, and supported plots carried out in Europe and Canada, and that he also attempted to coordinate similar attacks in the United States, including against Jewish institutions in New York, California, and Arizona. He appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge and was ordered detained pending trial.

According to court filings, prosecutors said alSaadi and unidentified associates planned, coordinated, or claimed responsibility for at least 18 attacks across Europe, along with two additional attacks in Canada, under the name Harakat Ashab alYamin alIslamiya, which prosecutors described as a component or...