Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting a firearms attack on Greater Manchester's Jewish community, in what police described as potentially the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were convicted of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. Their plan was thwarted by an undercover operative who infiltrated jihadist social media networks and supplied them with deactivated weapons.
Saadaoui, a Tunisian-born former restaurant owner from Abram, Wigan, was ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years. Hussein, a Kuwaiti national of no fixed address, must serve at least 26 years. Saadaoui's younger brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 37, of Hindley, Wigan, received a six-year sentence for failing to disclose information about the plot. All three had denied the charges in a trial lasting almost three months.
The court heard that the men planned to disguise themselves as Jews and attack an antisemitism march in Manchester city centre before targeting suburbs home to one of Europe's largest Jewish communities. They conducted reconnaissance on Jewish nurseries, schools, synagogues, and shops, and secured a safe house in Bolton for weapons. Saadaoui had sworn allegiance to Islamic State and was inspired by the orchestrator of the 2015 Paris attacks.
The plot was foiled when Saadaoui attempted to take possession of two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol, and almost 200 rounds of ammunition in a Bolton hotel car park on 8 May 2024. The weapons had been deactivated by the undercover operative. More than 200 officers were involved in the arrest.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Wall said the attack would have 'likely have been one of the deadliest terror attacks ever carried out on British soil', and that it would have led to deaths of people of all ages, including children. Greater Manchester Police's assistant chief constable, Robert Potts, praised the undercover officer's 'courage, bravery and professionalism'. Chief constable Sir Stephen Watson noted that Jewish communities in the UK 'put up with a way of life that nobody else has to put up with'.
