Men jailed over plot to attack Jewish community

Two men who planned to target the Jewish community in Manchester in what police said could have been "the UK's most deadly terror attack" have been jailed for life.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, arranged for guns to be smuggled into the UK as part of an "Isis-inspired plot", Preston Crown Court heard.

They were caught by an undercover operative who played a "crucial role" in foiling their plans, Greater Manchester Police said.

Saadaoui and Hussein were given minimum prison terms of 37 and 26 years respectively.

No specific attack target site or date was identified, but prosecutors said the men planned to launch a gun assault on a march against antisemitism by the end of summer 2024, and then head to north Manchester to carry on their killing spree.

During the sentencing hearing, Mr Justice Wall said: "I am sure this would have led to the deaths of many people and serious injuries to many, many more.

"Your plan envisaged you and two others discharging AK-47s into a large crowd of marchers, who were unarmed and defenceless.

"One-hundred-and-twenty bullets could have been discharged before any reloads were required. You planned to have spare magazines available.

"Your attack would have led to the deaths of people of all ages, including children."

The court heard how Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, aimed to smuggle four AK-47 assault rifles, two handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK.

• The former hotel entertainer who plotted deadly gun attack

Months earlier, the father-of-two, originally from Tunisia, paid a deposit for the weapons and believed he had arranged for their importation with a like-minded extremist named Farouk, who was actually an undercover operative.

Saadaoui told Farouk he could independently obtain a firearm via Sweden and indicated he was looking to bring guns from eastern Europe.

Separately he had bought an air weapon and had visited a shooting range.

Counter-terrorism police intervened on 8 May 2024, with more than 200 officers involved, as Saadaoui was arrested at a hotel car park in Bolton when he went to collect some of the firearms, which had been deactivated.

He had come to the attention of the authorities when he used 10 Facebook accounts, none of which were in his own name, to spread a torrent of Islamic extremist views.

Minutes after the hotel car park arrest, Hussein and Saadaoui's younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, both elsewhere, were also arrested.

The trial heard Walid Saadaoui had been planning to "martyr himself" in the attack.

He had prepared a will and had left a copy with his brother, along with tens of thousands of pounds in cash to help provide for his family.

Walid Saadaoui came to the attention of the authorities when he used 10 Facebook accounts, none of which were in his own name, to spread a torrent of Islamic extremist views.

Farouk was deployed to gain his trust, first online and then later in person.

Walid Saadaoui used one of his fake accounts to join the Facebook group of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester which contained details of a "March Against Antisemitism" held in the city centre on 21 January 2024, which thousands of people attended.

Days later he told Farouk: "Here in Manchester, we have the biggest Jewish community.

"God willing we will degrade and humiliate them (in the worst way possible), and hit them where it hurts."

Mr Justice Wall commended the bravery of Farouk, adding it was "a dangerous and difficult job".

"He undertook it with great skill and patience," he said.

"He has potentially saved many lives by putting his own life on the line."

Walid Saadaoui recruited fellow Isis sympathiser Hussein, a Kuwaiti national, who worked and lived at a furniture shop in Bolton to assist his plans.

The pair travelled to Dover, Kent, in March 2024 to conduct hostile reconnaissance on how a weapon could be smuggled through the port without detection.

On his return, Walid Saadaoui travelled to Prestwich and Higher Broughton in north Manchester where he carried out similar surveillance on Jewish nurseries, schools, synagogues and shops.

Bilel Saadaoui, of Hindley, Wigan, was not planning to take part in the attacks but knew what his older 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 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".

Walid Saadaoui and Hussein, of no fixed abode, were found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.

Bilel Saadaoui, 36, who was convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism, has been jailed for six years.

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