Two men convicted of plotting IS-inspired attack on mass gathering of Jews

"Two men have been convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on a mass gathering of Jews in the Manchester area. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, had a visceral dislike of Jewish people and wanted to cause untold harm, the court heard. But the plot was scuppered as they unknowingly laid bare their scheme to an undercover operative (UCO)."

"Main instigator Saadaoui aimed to smuggle four AK-47 assault rifles, two handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK in what police chiefs said could have been Britain's deadliest terrorist incident. Months earlier, the father-of-two, originally from Tunisia, paid a deposit for the weapons and believed he had arranged for their importation with a like-minded extremist but who in fact was the UCO, referred to in court as Farouk."

"Months earlier, the father-of-two, originally from Tunisia, paid a deposit for the weapons and believed he had arranged for their importation with a like-minded extremist but who in fact was the UCO, referred to in court as Farouk. Saadaoui told Farouk he could independently obtain a firearm via Sweden and indicated he was looking to bring guns from eastern Europe."

The Independent covers topics from reproductive rights to climate change and Big Tech and maintains free access to reporting without paywalls, relying on donations to send reporters to developing stories. The outlet produced a documentary, 'The A Word', about American women fighting for reproductive rights. Two men, Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack targeting a mass Jewish gathering near Manchester. Saadaoui aimed to smuggle four AK-47s, two handguns and 900 rounds into the UK and had paid a deposit for weapons he believed would be imported by a like-minded contact. The contact was an undercover operative, known in court as Farouk. Saadaoui said he could obtain a firearm via Sweden, sought guns from eastern Europe, bought an air weapon and visited a shooting range. Counterterrorism police intervened on the planned attack day, 8 May last year.

Read at www.independent.co.uk