Police say suspected Kata’ib Hizballah commander plotted Manhattan synagogue attack

An undercover law-enforcement officer was shown photos and maps of a Manhattan synagogue by a suspect prosecutors say was plotting an attack for $10,000 in cryptocurrency, with a $3,000 down payment. The man identified as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi national, was described by federal prosecutors as a commander in Kata’ib Hizballah, the Iran-backed militant group, in a case that police said was disrupted before it could reach the synagogue doors.

A federal complaint unsealed Friday said Al-Saadi sought to attack a New York City synagogue last month and that he was brought into U.S. custody after being arrested overseas. Prosecutors said he also provided photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, while discussing violence that stretched far beyond New York. They alleged he was involved in planning or promoting roughly 18 attacks in Europe since March 9, including attacks in Amsterdam and London, along with two recent attacks in Canada, including a synagogue attack and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March.

Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said the plot was stopped in coordination with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and that officers helped secure the synagogue when the threat level rose. Tisch said the scheme was “targeting the heart of our Jewish community,” and said the case highlights “the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah.” The New York Police Department said it worked with synagogue leadership to make sure security was in place after the threat escalated, a reminder of the tense balance many houses of worship now face between remaining open and protecting congregants.

Federal prosecutors said Al-Saadi faces charges including conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use. He appeared in federal court in Lower Manhattan and remained in custody, with his next court date set for June 29.

The case lands in a national climate still shaped by the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, when 11 congregants were killed in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Since then, the Anti-Defamation League has tracked a string of arrests tied to threats or plots against the Jewish community, and New York prosecutors have repeatedly warned that synagogue security threats are not abstract. In a 2025 Manhattan case, the district attorney said a man was indicted for terroristic threats against Central Synagogue and the Jewish community, after community security groups alerted law enforcement.