Men who plotted ‘mass murder’ of Jewish community in terror attack jailed for life
People who planned a mass shooting that would have resulted in “one of the deadliest attacks on Jewish communities” in Britain have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, hatched a plan to smuggle four high-powered military-grade AK-47 rifles, two handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK.
Together with Amar Hussein, 52, he had planned to open fire on a march against antisemitism in Manchester city centre, then attack an area of the city predominantly occupied by the Jewish community.
But their plot was thwarted after Walid Saadaoui shared his deadly preparations with a man he believed shared his ideology online. It was stated that Walid Saadaoui, without his knowledge, was actually in contact with an undercover agent and was later identified as “Farouk” in court hearings to protect his identity.
Saadaoui and Hussein were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years and 26 years respectively at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, Walid Saadaoui and Hussein were found guilty of preparing to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack, while Walid Saadaoui’s younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was found guilty of failing to disclose information he knew about their plans to the authorities.
Prosecutors said Walid Saadaoui moved to the North West in 2022 and made several unsuccessful attempts to buy guns online before meeting Farouk.
It was also revealed that he was making ISIS propaganda on numerous Facebook accounts and encouraging others to buy weapons “in the name of the Islamic State”.
In conversations with the undercover officer, he shared his admiration for Hamid Al Abaoud, the leader of the 2015 Paris attacks. He also told Farouk of his desire to attack the Jewish people and secretly joined the North West Jewish Facebook page to follow events.
He also assigned Hussein, an ISIS sympathizer, to conduct reconnaissance and monitor the arrival of the weapons.
The two would-be terrorists believed that Faruk could import automatic firearms from abroad and accepted him into their deadly circle. He had infiltrated the group and learned that the pair had espoused the so-called Islamic State ideology and were planning to launch attacks in response to alleged atrocities by Israeli troops after October 2023.
Farouk also learned that Walid Saadaoui had discussed his plans with his brother Bilel Saadaoui.
Walid Saadaoui was arrested by counter-terrorism police in May 2024 after trying to seize two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition.
Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counter-terrorism section, said: “This was a deeply disturbing plot inspired by extremist ideology. Had these terrorists succeeded, it would have led to mass murder and would have been one of the deadliest attacks on Jewish communities in this country.”
“The investigation and prosecution deployed a highly trained witness who ensured their plots did not succeed, and obtained valuable evidence directly from the terrorists’ mouth. This revealed their intent to destroy lives, their long-standing attitudes and beliefs, as well as their ISIS credentials. We worked closely with counter-terrorism officers from the outset to ensure the strongest possible case was built and presented to a jury in court, which resulted in convictions.”
“Terrorism is an attack on the fabric of our society. We will always use the law to protect societies from harm, and we will ruthlessly hold criminals to account and ensure they face the harshest legal consequences of their actions.”
