By Rohan Gunaratna
Introduction
The threat to the Jewish community has increased significantly after Israel’s overwhelming response to the Hamas led attack on October 7, 2023. Governments worldwide have disrupted a dozen plots to attack Israeli and Jewish targets.
Two men have been convicted for plotting an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack on Jewish communities in the north-west of England which aimed to kill hundreds of innocent people.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were convicted of making preparations to commit a large-scale terrorist attack, while Walid Saadaoui’s younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was convicted of failing to disclose to authorities the information he knew about their plans, following a trial at Preston Crown Court which concluded today.
Walid Saadaoui planned to smuggle four high-powered military grade AK 47 rifles, two pistols and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK. He had paid a deposit on the weapons in February 2024. His plan was to use these to carry out an attack on a mass march against Antisemitism in Manchester city centre, and then to move the attack to an area of north Manchester occupied predominantly by the Jewish community.
Known to be an Islamic State supporter, Hussein was recruited to help with the plan – which included killing law enforcement officers who might intervene.
Walid Saadaoui carried out reconnaissance of targets in Greater Manchester. He and Hussein also travelled to view the port of Dover in March and May 2024. In May 2024 they believed they were watching the weapons being transported by vehicle into the UK. The men also secured and equipped a safe house for storing weapons they would use between December 2023 and May 2024.[1]
Below is a short documentary on potentially the deadliest Islamist terror attack in UK history, that targeted Jews in the Manchester area:
The Context
The UK’s worst terror attack was thwarted when the British police arrested Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52. They were found guilty at Preston crown court on Dec 23, 2025 of preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.
With a “visceral dislike” of Jewish people, they planned a marauding attack in Greater Manchester, at the heart of one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities, having answered an Islamic State “call to arms” issued after the outbreak of war in Gaza.
The plot was uncovered through an operation involving an undercover officer posing as a like-minded extremist. The witness gained Walid Saadaoui’s trust. Believing him to share the same beliefs, Walid Saadaoui began to share his ideas, and through the undercover officer believed he had arranged the importation of firearms.[2]
Saadaoui arranged for the purchase and delivery of semi-automatic rifles, conducted reconnaissance and identified targets, but the man supplying them with the weapons was an undercover operative. Known to them as Farouk, he infiltrated jihadist social media networks and convinced Saadaoui that he was a fellow extremist. Saadaoui, a former Italian restaurant owner, was arrested in a police sting as he attempted to take possession of two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition at the car park of the Last Drop hotel in Bolton on 8 May 2024. The weapons were of the type used in Paris on 13 November 2015, when 130 people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of attacks.
Background
Walid’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, who worked in a discount shop, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism on the same dates. Walid Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, Bilel Saadaoui, of Hindley, Wigan, and Hussein, of no fixed abode, were driven by the Islamic State ideology.[3]
The Saadaoui brothers, originally from Tunisia living in the UK legally, swore allegiance to Islamic State before coming to the country. Hussein, who had also sworn allegiance to Islamic State and is understood to have been living in the UK legally, had served in Saddam Hussein’s army.
Walid Saadaoui had spoken of his connections to Islamic State to “Farouk”, telling him: “I am liaising with brothers who are insiders and are operatives, and God is my witness, they are not just brothers on Facebook, they worked with me three days and we got know each other well and they had to speak to three other people to verify me, they asked me questions about creed for three days and I spoke to them on the phone.
“They explain to me the best method of conducting the operations. If we carry out the operation in winter I will be a failure, it is better to carry out the operation in the summer … in the winter everybody is at home.”
Disrupting the Plot
The chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Stephen Watson, thanked officers and prosecutors for having “meticulously delivered upon an operation of almost unprecedented complexity”.
“It was clear throughout this trial that the scale of the offender’s hatred towards our Jewish community knew no bounds,” he said. “All too recently in Sydney, and of course here in Manchester in October – the very week before this trial began – we have felt the devastation of terrorism directed toward our Jewish community. A terrorist attack upon our Jewish friends and neighbours is an attack on us all and is an affront to all decent people in our country.”
The force’s assistant chief constable, Robert Potts, said the attack “could have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history” and that it had been necessary for the investigation to continue to the point where officers were satisfied they had enough evidence to get the most serious charges authorised.
“There was very real risk and danger for Farouk, who undoubtedly saved lives,” he said. “I cannot overemphasise his courage, bravery and professionalism in the role that he played.”
The head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) special crime and counter-terrorism division, Frank Ferguson, 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 credentials” in terms of Islamic State.
The CPS built a compelling case using a combination of digital evidence, surveillance, and witness testimony from an undercover officer who infiltrated the group.
Prosecutors demonstrated that Walid Saadaoui was the primary instigator of plans. Having moved from Great Yarmouth to the North West in the preceding year, he did not take up employment in 2023 as he prepared himself. He posted ISIS propaganda on numerous Facebook accounts and encouraged others to take up weapons in the name of Islamic State.
He made several unsuccessful attempts to purchase firearms, before meeting the prosecution witness online.
In their first ever meeting he shared his admiration for Hamid Al Abaoud, the leader of the 2015 Paris attacks. He shared his desire to attack Jewish people and covertly joined a North West Jewish Facebook page to follow events. He told the prosecution witness he committed himself to ISIS in 2013, before he moved to the UK.
Amar Hussein, a Syrian who claimed to have fought in the Iraqi army travelled with Walid Saadaoui to Dover to conduct reconnaissance. He was also involved in monitoring the arrival of weapons. His communications and presence at key locations supported the prosecution’s case.
Both men embraced the ideology of the so-called Islamic State and intended to carry out attacks in response to alleged atrocities conducted by Israeli troops following October 2023.
On 8 May 2024, Walid Saadaoui was arrested by Counter Terrorism police as he attempted to take possession of two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol, and almost 200 rounds of ammunition.
Bilel Saadaoui shared the same ISIS creed, accessing ISIS-inspired media and sharing them with Hussein. He was entrusted with Walid’s will and access to £70,000. He withheld critical information and exchanged voice notes about the plans with his brother in the days leading up to their arrests. The CPS proved that his actions constituted a failure to disclose material information under terrorism legislation.
The CPS was able to demonstrate the intention to carry out a terrorist attack in this case by presenting clear evidence of planning, coordination, and communication among the defendants.[4]
The future
The real problem here is not gun laws, the real problem is exclusivism, extremism, and terrorism. The continued influence of the Islamic State across the world demonstrates the need to combat extremism.
There is critical responsibility for Muslim leadership to mitigate future threats. I urge leaders to proactively counsel their communities against conducting attacks “in the name of Allah” and to reject the influence of conspiracy theories.
Extraordinary effort is required to build bridges and foster relationships between Muslims and all other religious communities, and the failure to do so guarantees the rise of extremists across the religious spectrum.
For the current generation to live in peace, it must be understood that there is no hierarchy in religion; instead, all faiths must universally promote moderation, toleration, and coexistence.
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Rohan Gunaratna is the editor of the Handbook of Terrorism in the Middle East. He teaches national security and intelligence and homeland security and counter terrorism at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He is the author and editor of 30 books.
[1] https://www.cps.gov.uk/north-west/news/terrorists-convicted-over-plot-targeting-jewish-communities
[2] https://www.cps.gov.uk/north-west/news/terrorists-convicted-over-plot-targeting-jewish-communities
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vmyv5vmm2o.amp
[4] https://www.cps.gov.uk/north-west/news/terrorists-convicted-over-plot-targeting-jewish-communities