Men jailed over plot to attack Jewish community in Manchester

Two men, Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein, have been sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting a potential terror attack on Manchester’s Jewish community, described as possibly the UK’s most deadly of its kind. Saadaoui, 38, intended to smuggle AK-47 rifles and handguns into the UK as part of an ISIS-inspired scheme. Their plans included attacking a march against antisemitism in 2024, targeting unarmed civilians.

They were apprehended thanks to an undercover operative who gained Saadaoui’s trust. The court revealed that Saadaoui was planning to “martyr himself” during the attack and had conducted surveillance on local Jewish sites while sharing extremist views on social media. Saadaoui and Hussein were both found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism, with minimum sentences of 37 and 26 years, respectively. A third brother, Bilel Saadaoui, received a six-year sentence for not reporting the plot despite his awareness. The judge highlighted the dangerous intentions behind their plans and commended the undercover operative’s bravery in potentially saving many lives.

Read the full article at BBC News