Mohammad Bashir, 31, an Islamic extremist from Cheetham Hill, plotted a terrorist attack at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, with Jihad Al-Shamie, who later carried out a fatal knife rampage at Heaton Park synagogue. The pair made a ten-hour round trip from Manchester to the campus to conduct hostile reconnaissance.
No attack took place at the Defence Academy. However, about seven weeks later, on October 2, 2025, Al-Shamie drove his Kia Picanto into the gates of Heaton Park synagogue on Yom Kippur and attacked with a knife while wearing a fake suicide belt. Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both from Crumpsall, died. Mr Cravitz was stabbed; Mr Daulby was inadvertently shot by police. Al-Shamie was shot dead at the scene.
Extremist conversations and planning
Prosecutors said WhatsApp messages between Bashir and Al-Shamie demonstrated a shared extremist worldview and interest in violent jihad. In a voice note from November 2024, Al-Shamie said: “I would love to go. I’ve had enough of this world. I’ve had enough of this life. I’ve had enough of all of it. I don’t want to live in this miserable city for much longer.”
Al-Shamie set up a WhatsApp group named ‘Aspiring to the Ranks of the Elite’. In a post in September 2024, Bashir said: “The only time we have ties with the enemies of Allah is when we are tying one around their neck before we execute them and make their women widows and children orphans.” Al-Shamie responded: “Take their beautiful Jewish women as concubines, exterminate the men and restore honour and glory to our Muslim lands and brothers and sisters.”
Reconnaissance at the Defence Academy
On August 9, 2025, Bashir and Al-Shamie were caught on CCTV at the Al-Sunnah mosque in Cheetham Hill discussing their plan. They selected a location believing they would not be captured on camera. Al-Shamie searched online for ‘idf soldiers uk’, finding an article about Israeli army officers studying at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He then accessed the Wikipedia page for the college and the Defence Academy website.
Bashir told Al-Shamie: “You got me really excited.” Al-Shamie replied: “Once we go there, we’re not coming back. Once we go to the mission.” Bashir said: “Of course.” Al-Shamie added: “Prepare to say bye to loved ones, any last debts we could pay off or any fines. I feel something.” Later, he said: “Whatever we do, if we do it, I believe it will be successful. I truly believe that.” Bashir told him: “This time next year, we will be in green birds,” a reference to martyrdom.
On August 13, Al-Shamie searched for 7/7 bombings and the 2017 London Bridge attack. They prayed together and left in Al-Shamie’s car. The following day, August 14, they drove to Oxfordshire. Bashir’s car stopped at the Defence Academy for about 15 minutes. Al-Shamie typed a note on his iPhone describing the reception area: “espionage. Walk in, there’s a desk from one side to the other, two old women sat there. Behind them is a corridor. Either side are two rooms open. Women coming in and out at the back of building there’s a door that leads to a search bay.” They returned to Manchester that evening.
Shift to Heaton Park synagogue
After the reconnaissance, Al-Shamie’s attention turned to Heaton Park synagogue. He searched for crossbows, weapons, and IDF soldiers. By September 11, he was searching for meat cleavers and travel bags. On September 22, he searched for ‘yom kippur massacre of nature’. On October 2, he crashed his car into the synagogue gates, phoned police, and said: “I pledge allegiance to the Islamic State and I have killed two Jews.” Police shot and killed him.
Bashir left the UK two days later using tickets booked on August 19. He was arrested at Manchester Airport on his return from Pakistan on November 27. He had deleted the contents of his iPhone. In police interviews, he said he ‘never thought in a million years that Jihad would do something like that’. He described Al-Shamie as ‘quite a clingy’ person and said he later distanced himself.
Bashir's background and defence
Defending, Mohammed Nawaz KC said Bashir was born and raised in the UK with a ‘normal and conventional’ upbringing. He subscribed to a non-violent version of Islam, but something changed. People who knew him expressed ‘surprise and shock’. Nawaz argued that Bashir did nothing to further the plan after August 14 and had a genuine change of heart, disassociating himself from Al-Shamie. He described the Defence Academy plot as in its ‘early stages’ and ‘vague’.
Bashir, of Shaftesbury Road, Cheetham Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of preparation of a terrorist act. He is due to be sentenced by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb at Manchester Crown Court.
