ISIS fanatics ‘prepared to kill several hundred people’ in UK terror attack jailed | UK | News
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein have been sentenced (Image: CPS)
Two men who plotted an Islamic State-inspired mass murder of Jewish people in Manchester have been jailed. Walid Saadaoui, 38, of Crankwood Road, Abram, Wigan; and Amar Hussein, 52, of no fixed address, have been sentenced to a total of 63 years.
The pair 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. They aimed to smuggle four AK-47 assault rifles, two handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK. Months earlier, father of two Saadaoui , originally from Tunisia, had paid a deposit for the weapons and believed he had arranged their importation with a fellow extremist named Farouk, who was in fact an undercover operative.
Counter-terrorism police stepped in on May 8, 2024, deploying more than 200 officers. Saadaoui was arrested in a hotel car park in Bolton when he arrived to collect several firearms, which had been deactivated.
He first drew the attention of authorities after using 10 Facebook accounts — none registered in his own name — to post a stream of Islamic extremist content.
Prosecutors said the pair were Islamist extremists who wanted to use automatic firearms to kill as many Jews as they could.
Judge Mark Wall sentenced Saadaoui to a minimum term of 37 years and Hussein to a minimum term of 26 years, saying: “You were very close to being ready to carry out this plan.”
Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said in court today: “These defendants were prepared to kill several hundred people.”
He adds: “Had the preparations for mass murder been enacted, the defendants would have committed one of the deadliest attacks involving firearms in the UK’s history, and certainty the worst firearms attack against the Jewish community.
“The impact of that which was planned would have been profound. It would have been significant, and it would have been far reaching.
“This case had the unfortunate chronology that it fell between two other terrorist attacks focused on the Jewish community here, in Manchester and also in Sydney.
“We say this could have been very much more serious.”
Their terrorist preparations were unconnected to the October attack at the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, where two worshippers, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed.
A jury convicted them of preparation of terrorist acts – namely that between December 13, 2023, and May 9, 2024, with the intention of committing acts of terrorism, they arranged for the purchase and delivery of firearms, conducted reconnaissance and made plans of attack.
A third defendant – Walid’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, Wigan – pleaded not guilty to a single charge of failing to disclose acts of terrorism between the same dates. The jury found him guilty by a majority.
The judge stated that he was convinced Saadaoui had played a leading role in the plot and had been directing most of the planning.
He firmly dismissed any claim that Saadaoui had been entrapped by Farouk, saying the success of the plan did not rely solely on Farouk’s involvement.
The judge described Amar Hussein’s role as significant, though not leading, noting that he had been recruited by Saadaoui. However, he emphasised that Hussein fully understood what was happening.
He added that, had the plot been carried out, it would likely have been one of the deadliest terrorist attacks ever committed on British soil.
Addressing the defendants, the judge said: “You were prepared to die for your cause.”
Sir Stephen Watson, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said Jews “have more justification to be fearful than anybody else”, which he said needed to be addressed.
Sir Stephen said: “We have seen the terrorist atrocity in Manchester at a synagogue on Yom Kippur. We have seen the events on Bondi Beach in Sydney.
“We are seeing the manifestation of hatred moving beyond our shores globally and this is a threat to all of us. It is a threat to our Jewish communities and if our Jewish communities are under threat we are all under threat.
“And we all owe to our Jewish friends and neighbours a steadfast duty to stand with them in all circumstances, and that is certainly what we do as part of Greater Manchester Police, the counter-terrorism network and beyond.”
