US alleges Iraq militia chief plotted UK base attack

A senior commander of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia allegedly helped orchestrate a failed plot to attack a British airbase from a prison in New York, according to US federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that Mohammad Baqir Saad Dawood al-Saadi, who leads Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iran’s most powerful proxy groups in Iraq, used coded messages during telephone conversations with family members to communicate instructions to associates outside prison.

Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkiye and charged in May with plotting attacks against Jewish sites in the United States. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, under strict security restrictions.

According to court filings, al-Saadi has limited contact with the outside world and is being held in a special housing unit generally reserved for high-profile prisoners. His lawyer said he is kept in handcuffs and leg restraints.

Prosecutors claim that during telephone conversations with his mother and sister over the summer, al-Saadi secretly discussed an operation and instructed his sister to pass messages to another associate.

The alleged target was Royal Air Force Fairford in southern England, a military airbase used by the United States military.

During one conversation, al-Saadi reportedly asked his sister what was being done about “all our old work”. Prosecutors believe the exchanges were part of efforts to coordinate the alleged attack plot while he remained behind bars.

The allegations are included in a new indictment naming al-Saadi alongside two other individuals: Iranian national Mohsen Mahajeri and Iraqi national Mohammed Ali al-Hassani.

US Attorney for Manhattan Jamie McDonald said the three men had allegedly helped organise a campaign of terrorism on behalf of Iran-linked militant organisations.

The new charges build on earlier allegations against al-Saadi. Prosecutors said in May that he had planned at least 20 attacks against American and Israeli interests as part of a wider campaign of retaliation after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.

The alleged operations were reportedly intended to target American and Israeli interests in response to the conflict.

It remains unclear whether Mahajeri and al-Hassani are currently in custody. Prosecutors had indicated in June that additional charges against al-Saadi were expected.

The latest allegations have emerged amid growing warnings from American and European officials about the threat of attacks by Iran and its allied groups since the conflict began in February.