On December 23, 2025, a jury at Preston Crown Court delivered a verdict that sent shockwaves through the United Kingdom’s Jewish community and beyond. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were found guilty of orchestrating a meticulously planned, ISIS-inspired mass-casualty gun attack targeting Manchester’s Jewish population. The trial exposed not only the chilling details of their plot, but also the tireless efforts of law enforcement and community leaders to prevent what could have been one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in British history.
The plan, as described by prosecutors and detailed across multiple reports from BBC and Greater Manchester Police, was nothing short of harrowing. Saadaoui and Hussein sought to acquire automatic rifles, handguns, and large quantities of ammunition. Their aim was clear: to inflict maximum harm, starting with Jews in Manchester. Saadaoui, who openly admired Abdelhamid Abaaoud—the mastermind behind the 2015 Paris attacks—envisioned a similar operation on British soil. He spoke brazenly about killing indiscriminately, declaring that Christian victims would be "a bonus." The court heard how Saadaoui carried out reconnaissance missions in Jewish neighborhoods, passing by schools, synagogues, nurseries, and kosher businesses while describing how the attack would unfold.
The conspiracy unraveled thanks to Operation Catogenic, the largest and most complex covert counter-terrorism investigation ever conducted in the North West of England. Central to the operation was an undercover officer known only as "Farouk." Gaining the trust of Saadaoui and Hussein, Farouk posed as a like-minded extremist and became privy to their coded messages—where firearms were referred to as "goldfinches" and ammunition as "bird seed." Saadaoui even sold his home to fund the plot, withdrawing large sums of cash to finance their deadly ambitions.
On May 8, 2024, the police made their move. Saadaoui was arrested as he collected what he believed to be the first shipment of weapons from a rented vehicle at a Lancashire hotel. The guns, supplied by authorities, were deactivated. Body-worn footage captured the moment armed officers intercepted him, preventing the attack from ever materializing. Hussein, a former Iraqi soldier living in Bolton, was also apprehended. Police found knives in his car, and he later expressed pride in terrorism, claiming religious justification for violence.
Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was convicted of failing to disclose information about the plot, though he was not charged with direct involvement in planning the attack. Investigators believe Walid Saadaoui had prior contact with a UK-based extremist who left Britain to join ISIS in 2013 and later died.
The plotters’ rationale was ostensibly retaliation for Israeli military action in Gaza. Yet, as recordings played in court revealed, Jews were the explicit target. Saadaoui’s rhetoric was laced with antisemitic vitriol, praising Hitler and dehumanizing Jews as "pigs and monkeys." He described how victims would be trapped during the assault, and he used online groups linked to Manchester’s Jewish community to monitor gatherings and events. According to BBC, Saadaoui infiltrated the Facebook group of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, where he accessed details of a "March Against Antisemitism" attended by thousands on January 21, 2024. Days later, he told Farouk, "Here in Manchester, we have the biggest Jewish community. God willing we will degrade and humiliate them (in the worst way possible), and hit them where it hurts."
The community’s response was swift and unequivocal. Raphi Bloom, of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, expressed profound gratitude to Greater Manchester Police and the security services for their "tireless work... to keep our community safe." Bloom did not mince words about the ongoing threat: "What we actually need to do is to address the root cause of what is driving the radicalisation of people here in the United Kingdom who want to target the Jewish community. The government and the Charity Commission, in our opinion, have been far too slow to tackle this extremism, and if they don't, these attacks will be planned and will be carried out again and again." He described the foiled plot as "a grave, grave threat to the Jewish community in Greater Manchester and the UK."
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust (CST), echoed these concerns, warning, "To hear now that somebody was trying to obtain weapons and had put together a meticulous attack plan to go and kill as many Jews as possible, I think will make people very, very fearful." Gardner added that the attack "may well have been the worst terrorist act in British history" and drew a direct line between jihadist ideology and the antisemitism of the twentieth century: "The ideology of jihad is like the ideology of Nazism. They want to kill Jews, end of story."
Government officials also weighed in. Security Minister Dan Jarvis condemned "vile antisemitic terrorist attacks that target Jews simply because they are Jews," referencing not only the Manchester plot but also a "horrific attack on our Jewish community in Manchester on Yom Kippur, and most recently at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney." Jarvis stated, "Antisemitism will never have any place in our society and we are absolutely determined to stamp it out wherever it exists. We stand in solidarity with Jewish communities here and everywhere." He praised the police and Crown Prosecution Service, noting, "Their work has saved lives and made all of us safer."
Greater Manchester’s Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson praised the counter-terror operation, emphasizing, "Throughout this trial, it was clear that the offenders' hatred towards our Jewish community knew no bounds. They sought to bring slaughter to the innocent, but the outstanding dedication and commitment of our people ensured that this could not happen. I hope today's verdict provides comfort and reassurance to our Jewish community and to all the people of Greater Manchester that justice has been served." The police, according to Watson, believed Saadaoui’s plot "could potentially have been the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history."
The Charity Commission also responded to criticism, stating, "We take very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism. Such links are abhorrent, and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends. We are robust in using the powers Parliament has granted us whenever required, dealing robustly with those who misuse charities for malign purposes including supporting extremism or terrorism."
The case comes against a backdrop of mounting concern. In October 2025, two Jewish worshipers were murdered in a ramming and stabbing attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, further heightening fears within the community. Jewish leaders and security experts warn that the threat is ongoing and that vigilance remains essential.
For many in Manchester and across the UK, the foiling of this plot is a testament to the vigilance of law enforcement and the resilience of a community that refuses to be cowed by hate. Yet, as the details revealed in court make clear, the underlying currents of radicalisation and antisemitism remain a grave challenge—one that demands not only robust security measures but also a determined effort to address its root causes.
