Iraqi suspected of organizing Dutch synagogue, Jewish school attacks arrested in Turkey

An Iraqi man suspected of coordinating explosions and arsons targeting Jewish sites in the Netherlands has been arrested in Turkey and extradited to the United States, where he faces prosecution, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is accused of playing a leading role in four attacks in the Netherlands: an explosion at a synagogue in Rotterdam on March 13, an explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam on March 14, arson at an American bank on the Amsterdam Zuidas on March 15, and an attempted arson at a building of Christians for Israel in Nijkerk on April 3.

U.S. authorities also accuse him of coordinating an explosion at a synagogue in Liege, Belgium; the arson that set fire to four ambulances of a Jewish aid organization in London; arsons at Jewish institutions in London; and a knife attack on two Jewish men in London.

Al-Saadi’s lawyer said he was arrested in Turkey. He was probably extradited to the U.S. early this week, CNN reported, citing flight data from a U.S. government plane.

According to the U.S. criminal complaint, intercepted telephone conversations show al-Saadi referring to Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyyah—known as Ashab al-Yamin—a relatively unknown terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

In the recordings, al-Saadi said he runs “multiple teams” in Europe and that he needed no further help because “things here are going well.” He requested assistance and offered money for planned attacks in the United States and Canada.

The complaint identifies al-Saadi as a commander in Kataib Hezbollah, a radical pro-Iranian Shiite militia in Iraq with close ties to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In that role, he is accused of carrying out orders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Supporting evidence includes photographs of al-Saadi with Iranian Gen. Soleimani, who headed the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020.

The Netherlands has not commented on the arrest. Right after the attacks, however, Prime Minister Jetten and Justice Minister Van Weel said investigators were examining a possible link to Iran. A March report by the ICCT think tank based in The Hague said multiple signals pointed toward Iran.

Dutch police have arrested four suspects in the Rotterdam synagogue explosion and one suspect in the arson at the American bank on the Zuidas.