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.

During the sentencing hearing at Preston Crown Court, 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.