Two men have been found guilty of plotting a devastating Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack targeting a mass gathering of Jewish people in Greater Manchester, in a case police described as potentially the deadliest in British history.
The Plot and its Foiling
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were convicted at Preston Crown Court of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. The court heard the pair harboured a "visceral dislike" of Jewish people and intended to cause "untold harm". Their scheme was ultimately thwarted after they unwittingly revealed their plans to an undercover police operative, known in court as 'Farouk'.
Saadaoui, the main instigator and a father-of-two originally from Tunisia, aimed to smuggle a significant arsenal into the UK. This included four AK-47 assault rifles, two handguns, and 900 rounds of ammunition. Police chiefs believe the planned attack, had it been executed, could have resulted in Britain's worst terrorist atrocity.
Planning and Surveillance
Months before the planned strike, Saadaoui paid a deposit for the weapons, believing he was dealing with a fellow extremist. In reality, his contact was the undercover officer. Saadaoui also discussed independently sourcing a firearm from Sweden and explored bringing guns from eastern Europe. He had purchased an air weapon and visited a shooting range.
The pair conducted hostile reconnaissance, travelling to the port of Dover in Kent in March 2024 to assess how weapons could be smuggled undetected. Saadaoui later carried out surveillance on Jewish community sites in north Manchester, including nurseries, schools, synagogues, and shops in Prestwich and Higher Broughton. A safe house in Bolton was secured to store the weapons.
Saadaoui had used multiple fake Facebook accounts to spread extremist ideology and had even joined the Facebook group of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester. There, he obtained details of a "March Against Antisemitism" held in Manchester city centre on 21 January last year, which attracted thousands of attendees. He told the undercover officer: "God willing we will degrade and humiliate them (in the worst way possible), and hit them where it hurts."
Arrests and Convictions
Counter-terrorism police intervened on the planned "strike day" of 8 May last year, deploying over 200 officers. Saadaoui was arrested in a hotel car park in Bolton as he went to collect what he believed were the firearms, which had been deactivated by authorities. Hussein, a Kuwaiti national who worked at a furniture shop in Bolton, was recruited by Saadaoui to assist.
The court heard that Saadaoui hero-worshipped Islamic State terrorist Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who orchestrated the 2015 Paris attacks. While no specific target date was finalised, prosecutors said the defendants planned to launch a gun assault on an antisemitism march before moving to north Manchester to kill more people.
During the trial, Saadaoui denied holding extreme views, claiming he was "playing along" with the undercover officer and intended to sabotage the plot himself. Hussein claimed the evidence was "fantasy" and told detectives: "Terrorism is our religion. Koran say terrorism is normal. We are proud, we say terrorism is proud."
Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, and Hussein, of no fixed address, were both convicted of preparing acts of terrorism. Saadaoui's brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, of Hindley, Wigan, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about the plan. All three will be sentenced on 13 February.
Official Reactions
Following the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable Robert Potts of Greater Manchester Police stated: "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." He praised the courage of the undercover officer, known as Farouk, whose work was "intrinsic" to disrupting the plot.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division, said: "The investigation and prosecution deployed a highly trained witness who made sure their plot did not succeed and secured valuable evidence directly from the mouths of the terrorists. They laid bare their intention to destroy lives, their long-held attitudes and beliefs as well as their Isis credentials."
