Community Security Trust has released a new in-depth report on the thwarted plot to kill hundreds of Jews in Manchester.
The plot, if successful, would have been “one of the deadliest terrorist attacks to ever take place on UK soil,” according to GMP Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts.
The operation to foil the plot – officially codenamed Operation Catogenic – was described by Counter Terrorism Police North West as the “largest scale and most complex covert counterterrorism investigation ever conducted in the North West.”
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein were both found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism after a trial at Preston Crown Court and were sentenced to minimum sentences of 37 and 26 years, respectively.
Walid’s younger brother Bilel Saadaoui was also imprisoned for failing to inform the police about the plot.
Saadaoui and Hussein were both followers of the ideology of Islamic State, the same ideology that inspired Jihad al-Shamie to attack Heaton Park Synagogue in north Manchester on Yom Kippur in October 2025, resulting in the deaths of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby.
The prosecution described Hussein and Saadaoui’s hatred of Jews as “visceral,” “deep-rooted,” and “long-standing.”
Details of the police operation
CST’s timeline of events begins on December 13, 2023, when undercover police officer “Farouk” joined a Facebook group posting IS content, which was later found to be Saadaoui’s account.
“Farouk” met with Saadaoui in person in February 2024. During this meeting, Saadaoui told him: “It is a must that we grab a Jewish person and slaughter him and remove his head and wipe (the floor). Rub blood on my body with his blood and throw it away. That is the least we can do.”
On March 16, 2024, “Farouk” drove Saadaoui and Hussein from Greater Manchester to Dover, the proposed route for smuggling weapons for the attack. Then on March 17, “Farouk” drove Saadaoui around Manchester to carry out reconnaissance on the Jewish community.
Saadaoui revealed that he had accessed a Facebook group for the Manchester Jewish community and seen details of various local Jewish community events, including the large March Against Antisemitism through Manchester city center, weeks earlier.
Hussein and Saadaoui planned to use powerful automatic AK-47 assault rifles and pistols to kill as many Jewish people and responding police officers as possible at that gathering, before driving to attack Jewish community sites less than three miles to the north, in the suburbs of Higher Broughton and adjoining Prestwich.
If Walid and Amar avoided being captured or killed while attacking there, they intended to make their way to an army base where they would kill members of the British Armed Forces.
On May 9, the group drove to the White Cliffs of Dover National Trust grounds, where they believed they were watching “Farouk” smuggle their weapons into the country. They were not aware that they were under police surveillance the whole time, not that, and by the end of that day, they would all be under arrest.
During the trial, Hussein denied being involved in a plot with Walid, but declared that he was “proud” to be a terrorist, expressed his support for IS, referred to Jews as “dogs” and the police as “pigs,” and made statements such as: “Terrorism is our religion… [the] Quran says terrorism is normal… we are proud, we say terrorism is proud.”
During the sentencing, Mr Justice Wall told the two: “You are antisemitic. You intended to target the Jewish community. Your conversations and postings make it clear how deep-seated your hatred is for Jewish people.”
The judge also praised “Farouk” for his bravery: “His is a dangerous and difficult job. He undertook it with great skill and patience. He saved many lives by putting his own on the line.”