Men guilty over gun attack plot on Manchester Jewish community

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

Walid Saadaoui, 38, and 52-year-old Amar Hussein had a “visceral dislike” of Jewish people and arranged for guns to be brought into the UK as part of an “Isis-inspired plot”, Preston Crown Court was told.

The men believed they were planning their attacks with a third man who they thought shared their extremist views but “Farouk” was actually an undercover operative, the court heard.

A third defendant, Saadaoui’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, has been convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.

Walid Saadaoui, of Abram in Wigan, and Hussein, of no fixed abode, were convicted of preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.

The court heard their plan was to get the weapons and ammunition and identify a mass gathering of Jewish people whom they could attack.

They had also identified areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population.

In addition, they intended to kill any law enforcement or police officers who got in their way.

Their plans were laid bare through their communication with Farouk and, as a result, the police were able to thwart them.

Farouk said he would arrange for the weapons to be brought into the country from Europe.

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

The prosecution said two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition were found in the vehicle.

However, counter-terrorism police said they were in control of the supply and delivery of the weapons the whole time in order to protect the public.

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

The trial heard Walid Saadaoui had been planning to “martyr himself”, had prepared a will and had left a copy with his brother, along with access to his belongings and tens of thousands of pounds in cash to help provide for his family.

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

The trial was shown WhatsApp messages between the pair which “provided a flavour of the views they held about Jewish people”.

In one message Bilel Saadaoui had sent Hussein a link to a news report that a number of Jewish people had been killed in a bridge collapse, and he added the hashtag “Beloved Palestine”.

Following the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Robert Potts said: “What Walid Saadaoui was trying to achieve was a terrorist attack on the Jewish community that, given the weaponry and ammunition involved, could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history.

“Some of the things he said made it very clear that he regarded a less sophisticated attack with less lethal weaponry as not being good enough as he saw it as his duty to kill as many Jewish people as he could.

“That wasn’t going to be achieved via the use of a knife, or potentially a vehicle, as a weapon.

“There was very real risk and danger for Farouk who undoubtedly saved lives.

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