Report sets out shocking extent of failed mass terror plot against Jews
Between December 2023 and May 2024, Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein plotted to attack Jews in Manchester and kill as many as possible with automatic weapons
A new report by the Community Security Trust lays bare the terrifying extent of the planning undertaken by men imprisoned last week after being found guilty of preparing to carry out mass terror attacks against the Manchester Jewish community – as well as how the security services managed to neutralise the threat.
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein were jailed for life , while Bilal Saadaoui – Walid’s brother – received six years for failing to disclose information about the plot.
The timeline of the plan stems from 13 December 2023, when Walid first made contact with “Farouk”, an undercover police operative, until 8 May 2024, when the Saadaoui brothers and Hussein were arrested. As CST notes in its timeline of the plot, the trial of the brothers began on 7 October 2025, “just five days after the deadly terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue, meaning that Manchester’s Jewish community was already in a collective state of shock when the chilling details of Walid’s and Amar’s intended plot began emerging in the local and national news.”
After Walid and “Farouk” met online in December 2023, Walid, who believed that the undercover officer was a fellow extremist, began discussing his murderous hatred of Jews and his intention to kill them.
It is a must that we grab a Jewish person and slaughter him and remove his head and wipe (the floor). Rub blood on my body with his blood and throw it away. That is the least we can do.
As the plan developed, it took on the following form – Walid and Amar, who believed they would be backed up by “Farouk”, intended to use AK-47 assault rifles and other firearms to attack a march against antisemitism which would take place in the centre of Manchester, killing as many Jewish people and responding police officers as possible. They would then drive north to the Manchester Jewish community in the Broughton Park and Prestwich areas, targeting Jewish sites there. If not captured or killed by that time, they intended to target an army base and kill members of the armed forces.
While Walid made it clear that he wanted to use firearms to kill as many people as possible, he also told “Farouk” that, “It is a must that we grab a Jewish person and slaughter him and remove his head and wipe (the floor). Rub blood on my body with his blood and throw it away. That is the least we can do.”
Walid carried out reconnaissance of the Jewish communities in Prestwich and Broughton Park. On one occasion, he and “Farouk” walked past a local Jewish school. Walid said: ““This is a school this one. It is a school time. There is one hour and a half left. We will go to poison them; we will put poison in the water… Their children, their cars and their houses.”
Walid would repeatedly make comments about Jewish people they passed, including calling them “killers of the messengers and prophets” and saying that “God had cursed them to become pigs and monkeys”.
As the CST report details, Walid and “Farouk” entered a kosher supermarket opposite a synagogue, walking through it to work out how it might be best attacked. When Farouk suggested that they buy something, Walid refused, saying he did not want to give money to Jews because “all of the money will go to Israel”.
Walid and Amar would ultimately go to the south coast to monitor what they believed to be the weapons shipment that “Farouk” was smuggling into the country. Bilal had refused to take part in the plot, but his brother had left him with money which he was to give to Walid’s family after the plot was carried out. The three men were subsequently arrested by the police.
As described by the report, Amar denied being involved in a plot with Walid, but declared that he was “proud” to be a terrorist, expressed his support for IS, referred to Jews as “dogs” and the police as “pigs” and made statements including:
– “Your government… your prime minister sent to Israel weapon to kill our children, you don’t see them in Gaza, you see it or don’t see it…Your prime minister you know, he is terrorist that kills our children and gives Israel weapon and kill our children…Your government wants Israeli to kill us, to kiss [sic] our children.”
– “Terrorism is our religion… Quran say terrorism is normal… we are proud, we say terrorism is proud.”
– “Because you kill all our children in Palestine. We have to protect our Islam things… Your government… give weapon to Israelis to go kill our children or not?”
During the trial, the prosecution showed that all three of the men on trial had possessed numerous nasheeds (Islamic Songs) produced by ISIS. One of these, titled “And kill them where you have encountered them”, was sent by Walid to “Farouk”, and contained numerous examples of exhortations to target Jews.
A spokesperson for CST said: “This report draws on court proceedings and official material to detail the terrorists’ plans to kill hundreds of people in Manchester’s Jewish community, the hateful ideology that drove them, the astonishing courage of the undercover police operative who infiltrated and disrupted the gang, and the wider implications for Jewish security and for counter‑terrorism.
“We believe this report is an important contribution to understanding the persistent threat of anti-Jewish terrorism in the UK and the measures that need to be taken to protect the Jewish community, and wider society, from this growing danger.
The full CST report can be read here.
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