Men guilty over gun attack plot on Manchester Jewish community

Two men who planned a gun attack to cause “untold harm” to Manchester’s Jewish community have been found guilty.

Preston Crown Court heard Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, had an “instinctive dislike” of Jews and arranged for weapons to be brought into the UK as part of an “ISIS-inspired plot”.

They believed they had planned the attacks with a third man, known as ‘Farouk’, who they thought shared their extremist views but was actually undercover.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the main instigator of the incident, Walid Saadaoui, planned to carry out what “could potentially be the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history”.

The third defendant, Saadaoui’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.

Walid Saadaoui, of Abram in Wigan and of no fixed abode, was found guilty of preparing to commit terrorist acts between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.

The court heard their plan was to take weapons and ammunition and identify a mass Jewish community they could attack.

They also scouted areas with large Jewish populations in Greater Manchester and planned to kill police officers who stood in their way.

However, thanks to their communication with Faruk, their conspiracy was revealed and as a result, the police managed to prevent them.

The undercover agent told them he would arrange for semi-automatic weapons to be brought into the country from Europe.

Walid Saadaoui was arrested in the car park of a hotel in Bolton on May 8, 2023.

The prosecutor’s office reported that two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and nearly 200 bullets were found in the vehicle.

However, anti-terrorism police said the supply and delivery of weapons was always under control in order to protect the public.

Hussein and Bilel Saadaoui, who were both elsewhere, were arrested minutes later.

The hearing heard Walid Saadaoui planned to “martyr himself”, drafting a will and leaving a copy to his brother, as well as leaving access to his belongings and tens of thousands of pounds in cash to provide for his family.

Bilel Saadaoui, of Hindley, Wigan, did not plan to take part in the attacks but knew what his brother was doing and sympathized with the views of the so-called Islamic State group.

The hearing was shown WhatsApp messages between the pair that “give an insight into the views they have about the Jewish people”.

In one message, Bilel Saadaoui sent Hussein a link to a news report about the deaths of many Jews in a bridge collapse and added the hashtag “Dear Palestine”.

Following the verdicts, GMP Deputy Chief Constable Robert Potts said: “What Walid Saadaoui was trying to achieve was a terrorist attack on the Jewish community, which, given the weapons and ammunition involved, could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history.

“Some of the things he said made it clear that he didn’t think a less sophisticated attack with less lethal weapons was good enough because he saw his mission as killing as many Jewish people as possible.

“This would not be achieved by using a knife or potentially a tool as a weapon.

“There was very real risk and danger to Faruk, who undoubtedly saved lives.

“I cannot emphasize enough his courage, bravery and professionalism in the role he played.”