ISIS-Inspired Terror Plot Against Manchester Jewish Community Thwarted, Raising Security Concerns

Three men have been convicted of planning what authorities described as a potentially catastrophic ISIS-inspired firearms attack against Jewish targets in Manchester. Security officials warn the foiled plot could have become the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were found guilty at Preston Crown Court of plotting a marauding gun attack. Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was convicted of failing to disclose information about the plot, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The men intended to conduct a Paris-style assault using military-grade weapons, targeting an area of north Manchester predominantly occupied by the Jewish community. Prosecutors revealed that Walid Saadaoui had paid a deposit toward the purchase of four AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, using funds raised after selling his home and business.

Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts emphasized the severity of the thwarted attack, noting it could have had “catastrophic” consequences. “This could have become the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history,” Potts stated, highlighting the targeted nature of the planned assault.

Court testimony revealed disturbing details about the plot’s brutality. Saadaoui reportedly admired Hamid al-Abaoud, the ISIS operative who orchestrated the deadly 2015 Paris attacks, and sought to replicate a similar style of mass murder. He allegedly told an undercover officer he intended to kill “young, old, women, elderly, the whole lot,” and described Christian victims as “a bonus.”

The meticulous planning included reconnaissance missions to the White Cliffs of Dover in March and May 2024, where Saadaoui and Hussein observed port security, believing they were surveilling how weapons would be smuggled into the UK.

The plot was disrupted on May 8, 2024, through an undercover police operation. Saadaoui was arrested while attempting to take delivery of firearms and ammunition, with police body-worn camera footage capturing the moment armed officers apprehended him immediately after the handover.

Intelligence sources told Sky News that MI5 believed Saadaoui had previously been in contact with a British extremist who left the UK to join ISIS in 2013, suggesting possible connections to established terrorist networks.

During the trial, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC dismissed any notion of innocence, telling the jury the plan “hardly had the innocence of a teddy bear picnic” and describing it as a deliberate attempt to inflict mass civilian casualties.

The foiled plot has rekindled painful memories in Manchester, a city that has already suffered significant terrorist violence. In 2017, an ISIS-inspired suicide bomber killed 22 people at the Manchester Arena, marking the deadliest terror attack in the UK since the July 7, 2007, bombings in London.

More recently, counterterrorism police responded to an attack outside a Manchester synagogue in October, when an assailant rammed pedestrians and stabbed worshipers during Yom Kippur services, killing two Jewish men. British authorities declared that incident a terrorist attack.

The repeated targeting of Jewish sites has heightened security concerns within Britain’s Jewish community. A December 2025 survey by the Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed a dramatic deterioration in British Jews’ sense of security, with 51% stating they do not believe they have a long-term future in the United Kingdom. The poll found that 61% had considered leaving the country within the past two years, citing antisemitism and safety concerns.

Nearly all respondents (96%) said Jews are less safe in the UK than before the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, while 59% reported avoiding wearing visible signs of Jewish identity in public due to fear of antisemitism.

The survey also highlighted a concerning lack of confidence in law enforcement and the justice system. Only 14% of respondents believed police do enough to protect Jewish communities, 8% felt the justice system adequately punishes antisemitic crimes, and just 7% said prosecutors do enough to bring offenders to justice.

The three convicted men now await sentencing for their roles in the plot, which has underscored ongoing security challenges facing religious communities in the UK.