Two ISIS Supporters Sentenced to Life for Plotting 'Deadliest' Terror Attack on Manchester's Jewish Community

Two Islamic State supporters were sentenced to life in prison on Friday for plotting what a judge called potentially "one of the deadliest terror attacks ever carried out on British soil" — a marauding firearms assault targeting the Jewish community in Greater Manchester .

Walid Saadaoui, 38, a Tunisian-born former restaurant owner from Abram, Wigan, was ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years in prison. His co-conspirator Amar Hussein, 52, a Kuwaiti national believed to have served in Saddam Hussein's army, received a minimum term of 26 years. Saadaoui's younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 37, was sentenced to six years for failing to disclose information about the plot .

The three were sentenced at Preston Crown Court after being found guilty in December 2025 of offences under the Terrorism Act 2006, following a trial lasting nearly three months. The jury heard that the conspirators were Islamist extremists — both had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, posted IS propaganda on social media, and Saadaoui had been considering a lone knife attack for years before escalating his plans — with what prosecutors described as a "visceral dislike" of Jewish people .

The Plot

The conspiracy took shape in late 2023, when Saadaoui escalated his plans after the outbreak of war in Gaza in October of that year . He recruited Hussein, and together they planned what the Crown Prosecution Service said was intended to be a mass-casualty attack aimed at killing as many people as possible .

The scope of their ambition was extraordinary. According to prosecutors, Saadaoui sought to smuggle four military-grade AK-47 rifles, two pistols, and 900 rounds of ammunition into the United Kingdom, paying a deposit on the weapons in February 2024 . The plan called for the attackers to disguise themselves as Jewish people and open fire on an antisemitism march in Manchester city centre before moving to suburbs north of the city that are home to one of Europe's largest Jewish communities .

In preparation, Saadaoui conducted reconnaissance of Jewish nurseries, schools, synagogues, and shops in Prestwich and Higher Broughton . He and Hussein also travelled to Dover in March and May 2024 to survey how weapons could be smuggled through the port undetected . A safe house was secured in Bolton for weapons storage, and the plan included killing any law enforcement officers who might intervene .

The Undercover Operation

What Saadaoui did not know was that the man he believed to be a fellow extremist and arms supplier was in fact an undercover operative, referred to in court as "Farouk" . The operative had infiltrated jihadist social media networks and convinced Saadaoui he was a genuine supporter of Islamic State.

Farouk's infiltration provided investigators with direct evidence of the conspirators' intentions. Saadaoui hero-worshipped Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Islamic State operative who orchestrated the November 2015 Paris terror attacks in which 130 people were killed and hundreds more injured .

The operation culminated on 8 May 2024, when Saadaoui was arrested in a counter-terrorism strike involving more than 200 officers as he attempted to take possession of 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 weapons had been deactivated by security services.

Sentencing and Reaction

Sentencing the defendants, Mr Justice Wall said their attack would have led "to the deaths of many people and serious injuries to many, many more" . The judge noted that 120 bullets could have been discharged before any reloads were required, with spare magazines available, and that the attack "would have led to the deaths of people of all ages, including children" .

After the verdicts last year, Assistant Chief Constable Robert Potts of Greater Manchester Police said the plot, "given the weaponry and ammunition involved, could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history" . Of the undercover operative, Potts said: "There was very real risk and danger for Farouk who undoubtedly saved lives. I cannot overemphasise his courage, bravery and professionalism in the role that he played" .

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the investigation had ensured the plot did not succeed and that valuable evidence was secured directly from the defendants, resulting in the convictions .

Broader Context and Community Response

The sentencing comes amid heightened concerns about antisemitic violence globally. Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson of Greater Manchester Police said Jewish communities in the UK "put up with a way of life that nobody else has to put up with" and have "more justification to be fearful than anybody else" .

Watson pointed to a pattern of escalating threats, citing the terrorist atrocity at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and events on Bondi Beach in Sydney. "We are seeing the manifestation of hatred moving beyond our shores globally and this is a threat to all of us," he said. "If our Jewish communities are under threat we are all under threat" .

The 37-year minimum term imposed on Saadaoui is among the longest ever handed down for terrorism offences in the UK, reflecting what legal observers note is a trend toward harsher sentencing for plots that reach an advanced operational stage. The case also highlights ongoing debates about the role of undercover operations in counter-terrorism — widely credited with preventing attacks, but periodically questioned by defence lawyers who raise concerns about the boundary between infiltration and entrapment.

No appeal has been announced by the defendants. Greater Manchester Police said the investigation remains ongoing in relation to wider networks.