Undercover Sting Stops Plot Against Manchester Jews

A covert police operation in Greater Manchester has prevented what detectives say was a carefully plotted mass shooting aimed at the region’s Jewish community. Two men, long on the security services’ radar as sympathisers of Islamic State, had been quietly preparing for an attack to be carried out in public and in the suburbs. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, had lived ordinary lives in Britain while nurturing extremist plans. Their scheme was chillingly methodical: masquerade as Jewish marchers to blend into a demonstration in Manchester city centre, open fire with assault rifles, then sow chaos by prompting large numbers of emergency calls so they could continue strikes in nearby neighbourhoods where many Jewish families live. Saadaoui also targeted Christians as part of his wider aims. Police say Saadaoui had shown no obvious signs that he was radicalised. He worked in hospitality, once owned a restaurant in Norfolk and appeared to neighbours as an everyday family man. Behind the scenes he ran dozens of social media accounts praising attacks, idolised past terrorists and moved to the Manchester area after the October 2023 events in the Middle East sharpened his focus. Saadaoui’s plot accelerated after he began communicating with an undercover counter‑terrorism officer posing as an IS contact. He paid a cash deposit of £2,250 expecting to be supplied with semi‑automatic weapons. Rather than arresting him at the first public sign of extremism, investigators maintained the sting to secure weapons and build an unanswerable case — a tactic they say carried heavy risks but was judged necessary to prevent release and a future attack. Hussein, who had military experience, was recruited by Saadaoui and reacted with visible elation when offered a weapon. The two men conducted reconnaissance, including repeated visits to Dover, and scouted synagogues, shops and schools around north Manchester. Saadaoui even wrote a will, hid large sums of cash and readied his family for his planned death as a “martyr”. On 8 May 2024 the operation ended in Bolton when officers intercepted the final handover at the Last Drop Village hotel car park. Saadaoui was arrested there; Hussein was detained at the shop where he worked. The weapons were rendered inoperative by police. All three defendants have since been convicted — Saadaoui and Hussein for preparing terrorist acts, and Saadaoui’s brother for failing to report the plot. The case highlights how modern radicalisation can be furtive and domestic, and the agonising choices facing investigators who balance immediate arrests against securing evidence that prevents even greater harm. It also underlines the role of undercover work in stopping violence before it begins — and the narrow margin by which a community was spared a potential catastrophe. --- Managing your business finances? TaxAce provides smart online accountancy services for UK businesses with flexible monthly plans. Image and reporting: https://www.theguardian.com | Read original article