Men guilty of gun attack plot targeting Manchester's Jewish community

Men guilty over Jewish community gun attack plot Two men who planned a gun attack to cause "untold harm" to the Jewish community in Manchester have been found guilty. Walid Saadaoui (left) and Amar Hussein (right) arranged for guns to be brought into the UK Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, 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 heard. They believed they were planning the attacks with a third man, known to them as 'Farouk', who they thought shared their extremist views but was actually an undercover operative. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the main instigator Walid Saadaoui had plotted to carry out what "could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history". 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 scoped out areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population, and planned to kill any police officers who got in their way. But their plot was laid bare through their communication with Farouk and, as a result, the police were able to thwart them. The undercover operative had told them he would arrange for semi-automatic 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". 'Deadliest terrorist attack' Following the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable of GMP Robert Potts said: "What Walid Saadaoui was trying to achieve was a terrorist...

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