IS Terrorists Sentenced to Life for Plotting Massacre of Manchester Jewish Community
Two Islamic State extremists who conspired to slaughter "as many Jewish people as they could" in a marauding terror attack have been handed life imprisonment sentences. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, planned a brutal assault targeting Greater Manchester's Jewish community, which authorities believe would have been the United Kingdom's most devastating terrorist attack if not thwarted.
Sentencing Details and Judicial Remarks
Walid Saadaoui received a life sentence with a minimum term of 37 years. Judge Mr Justice Wall told Saadaoui during sentencing: "You have shown no remorse for your actions, nor any acceptance of guilt throughout your trial." Amar Hussein was also sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 26 years. The judge criticized Hussein for his "cowardice" in failing to attend his own sentencing hearing.
The Foiled Attack Plot
The court heard that the pair were motivated by the 2015 Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people and had responded to an Islamic State "call to arms" issued following the outbreak of war in Gaza. Saadaoui organized the purchase and delivery of semi-automatic rifles, conducted reconnaissance, and identified specific targets. However, their weapons supplier was actually an undercover operative known as "Farouk" who had infiltrated jihadist social media networks.
Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC stated at the sentencing hearing: "These defendants were prepared to kill several hundred people. Had the preparations for mass murder been enacted, the defendants would have committed one of the deadliest attacks involving firearms in the UK's history, and certainly the worst firearms attack against the Jewish community."
Police Operation and Arrests
Saadaoui, a former Italian restaurant proprietor, was apprehended in May 2024 during a police operation as he attempted to collect two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol, and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition in the car park of the Last Drop hotel in Bolton. The firearms were of the same type used in the November 2015 Paris attacks. Hussein was arrested simultaneously at his electrical business.
The undercover operative "Farouk" had tricked the jihadists into believing a stockpile of assault rifles, handguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition was being shipped to the UK on a cross-Channel ferry. In March of last year, Saadaoui, Hussein, and the undercover agent traveled to Dover, Kent, unaware that the weapons cache consisted entirely of deactivated firearms.
Trial and Convictions
Saadaoui and Hussein were convicted of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024 at Preston Crown Court in December. Jurors required just two days to reach their verdict following a trial that spanned almost three months. A third defendant, Walid's brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, who worked at a discount shop, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.
The court heard that the accused planned to target schools and synagogues in Manchester's Jewish community. Saadaoui stated that Jews were the primary focus of the attack, scheduled for last summer, with any Christian casualties described as 'a bonus'.
Police and Community Response
Following the guilty verdicts, Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Robert Potts said: "What Walid Saadaoui was trying to achieve was a terrorist attack on the Jewish community that, given the weaponry and ammunition involved, could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history."
The plot was thwarted just over a year before two Jewish men were killed in the Manchester synagogue attack during Yom Kippur in October 2025. The Campaign Against Antisemitism stated the plot was "a reminder that what happened on Bondi Beach on December 14 could just as easily have happened here in Britain."
Background and Evidence
Saadaoui had discussed his links to Islamic State with the undercover operative, revealing: "I am liaising with brothers who are insiders and are operatives, and God is my witness, they are not just brothers on Facebook, they worked with me three days and we got to know each other well." He was also captured on recording stating that if Muslims "all over the world" attacked "the Jewish people, honestly they wouldn't do what they do in Gaza now."
The court was told Saadaoui attracted suspicion following the Hamas attacks in Israel due to his hate-filled social media activity. He had infiltrated a Jewish community page on Facebook to monitor his targets online and determine when they might be holding gatherings. Throughout his trial, Saadaoui maintained that a senior IS operative had 'taken advantage' of his kindness and coerced him to plan the attack, while Hussein denied any involvement.
Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter-terrorism division, stated: "The investigation and prosecution deployed a highly trained witness who made sure their plot did not succeed and secured valuable evidence directly from the mouths of the terrorists."
