Two men have been convicted of preparing acts of terrorism over a plot to massacre Jews on the streets of Greater Manchester. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, planned to disguise themselves as Jews and infiltrate a march against antisemitism in Manchester city centre before opening fire with assault rifles.
The plot was thwarted by an undercover counter-terrorism operative known as Farouk, who had infiltrated the Islamic State cell. Saadaoui was arrested in a hotel car park in the final stages of preparation, while Hussein was detained at the shop where he worked. Police said the attack would have been the worst terrorist attack the UK had ever seen.
The men had been sleeper agents for IS for years, living quietly in Britain. Saadaoui, originally from Tunisia, had no criminal record and was not known to security services. He appeared to live an ordinary life, working as a chef and buying a restaurant in Great Yarmouth, but held extreme views, idolising a Bataclan attacker and praising Hitler.
Saadaoui also planned to attack Christians, saying: "God willing ... after we finish with the Jews ... we move on to the crusaders." He envisaged being "martyred" and spoke of leaving an AK-47 for his son. A prosecution source described him as "quite prepared to go out and kill children and leave his own in the process."
Saadaoui and Hussein were found guilty after a three-month trial at Preston crown court. Saadaoui's younger brother, Bilel Saadaoui, was convicted of failing to report the plot. The full details of the conspiracy have now been revealed following the convictions.
