Islamist terror suspects ‘plotted mass shooting of Jews’

 Two alleged Islamic State-inspired terrorists plotted to massacre Jews in the north-west of England, a court has heard.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, and 52-year-old Amar Hussein planned to “kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could” with assault rifles similar to those used in the 2015 Paris terror attacks, Preston Crown Court was told.

Jurors heard that the pair hoped to become “martyrs” after causing “untold harm” by planning “mass fatalities”.

Prosecutors said the two men had planned to smuggle six firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition into the country before they were arrested by counter-terror officers in May last year.

Mr Saadaoui, from Wigan, and Mr Hussein, of no fixed abode, are on trial accused of preparing acts of terrorism, with the main targets being the Jewish community in the North West and members of law enforcement and the military.

Mr Saadaoui’s brother Bilel, 36, also from Wigan, is accused of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. All three deny the charges.

‘Taking possession of firearms’

Minutes into the trial, proceedings were interrupted by Mr Hussein, who shouted “don’t talk s---” and “how many children, how many babies”.

“We defend ourselves,” he said before he was ordered to be removed from the court.

Opening the case, Harpreet Sandhu KC, prosecuting, told the court that in May last year Mr Saadaoui was approached by police officers in a car park in Bolton and ran away.

“In the car Walid Saadaoui ran away from were two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition,” he said.

“[He] had arranged and paid for those firearms and ammunition to be smuggled into the country and delivered to him. He was taking possession of those firearms when the police approached him.”

‘Guns capable of causing untold harm’

Mr Sandhu said that was “not the only delivery of firearms and ammunition” Mr Saadaoui was expecting, and that he was waiting for a further two assault rifles, a pistol and more ammunition.

He had hoped to receive a total of six firearms and at least 900 rounds of ammunition, the prosecutor told the court.

“Those firearms are fierce weapons,” he said. “The assault rifles are capable of firing several hundred rounds of ammunition per minute. They were the type of firearms used in many terrorist attacks, including attacks in Paris in 2015, when approximately 130 people were killed and hundreds of people were injured.

“The firearms and ammunition Walid Saadaoui was about to receive were capable of causing untold harm. Untold harm was precisely what [he] had planned to cause together with Amar Hussein.”

‘Planned to cause mass fatalities’

Mr Sandhu said Mr Saadaoui was about to receive the firearms and ammunition because he and Mr Hussein were “planning terrorist attacks” on Jewish communities.

“They planned to kill,” he said. “They planned to cause mass fatalities. In particular, they planned to kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could, especially those in the north-west of England.

“Their plan was to get the weapons and ammunition and identify a mass gathering of Jewish people whom they could attack. They had also identified areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population to attack. 

“In addition, they intended to kill any law enforcement or police officers who got in their way.”

Mr Sandhu said the pair believed they were planning their attacks with a third man called “Farouk”, who they thought shared their extremist views but who was actually an undercover operative.

“Their plans were laid bare through their communication with ‘Farouk’ and, as a result, the police were able to stop those plans from becoming a tragic reality,” he added.

He said Bilel Saadaoui was not planning to take part in attacks but knew what his brother was doing and sympathised with the views of the Islamic State.

Mr Sandhu said Walid Saadoui had been planning to “martyr himself” and had prepared a will and left a copy with his brother, along with access to his belongings and tens of thousands of pounds in cash to help provide for his family.

‘Long-standing dislike for the Jewish people’

The court was read WhatsApp messages between Bilel Saadoui and Mr Hussein, which “provided a flavour of the views they held about Jewish people”.

In one message, Bilel Saadaoui had sent Mr Hussein a link to a news report that 25 Jewish people had been killed in a bridge collapse, and added the hashtag Beloved Palestine. Mr Hussein replied: “Allah is truly vigilant over them.”

Mr Sandhu told jurors: “That, ladies and gentlemen, was not a response in sympathy but rather a message that gloried in the death of Jewish people.

“Amar Hussein and Walid Saadaoui planned to kill Jewish people because they had a visceral dislike for them. The response from Amar Hussein was sent in 2021, and it shows how deep-rooted and long-standing that dislike for the Jewish people was.”

The court heard that images of the Manchester Jewish Museum were found on Hussein’s phone, one capturing the outside of the building, in Cheetham Hill, and one showing inside.

‘Themes about engaging in violence’

Jurors were also told that religion and politics were often mentioned together in the messages the defendants exchanged.

Mr Sandhu referred to a message Bilal Saadaoui sent to Mr Hussein about the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and said another theme was “violence and religion”.

In one message from Bilal Saadaoui to Mr Hussein he said “peaceful means will not redress injustices, nor will they restore the Muslim nation’s dignity” and that “Islam has never advocated peaceful methods as a way to achieve these goals”.

Mr Sandhu told jurors that religious songs known as Nasheeds and previously published by Islamic State were found on Bilel Saadaoui’s phone and “contained consistent themes about engaging in violence in the name of Islam, of slaughtering disbelievers, annihilating infidels, seeking revenge against the perceived enemies of Islam”.

“Those Nasheeds glorified terrorism,” he said, adding that a picture of a masked gunman with the banner of the armed wing of Hamas was also found on his phone.

The court heard his phone also contained a 44-second video, which showed his stepson lying on the floor holding a rifle and practising shooting targets.

Next to him, jurors were told, was a mobile playing an Islamic State Nasheed entitled We Rose Up, which included the lines: “We break the shackles, We fight to death, We storm into the crowds... We rise up speedily, We break the shackles, We fight battles, We fight fire with fire.”

‘They are extremists’

Mr Sandhu told the court that they had planned the attack “because they are Islamic extremists” and “embraced the views of the so-called Islamic State”, and were prepared to die for this.

“Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein were prepared to risk their own lives,” he said, and they thought they would become “martyrs” in their extremist cause.

“By May 2024, they had spent months preparing for their acts of terrorism. That included preparing themselves for their own deaths,” he said.

Before the trial opened, Judge Mr Justice Wall told jurors that the background of the case was “coincidental” to last week’s attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, in which two men were killed.

He said: “It is no part of the prosecution’s case that any of these defendants had anything to do with what happened in the synagogue in Manchester last week. You must try them fairly without reference or thought to what happened there. For the purposes of this trial it is irrelevant. You are here to try the defendants fairly on the evidence.”