British prosecutors said today (Wednesday) at the beginning of the trial of two men accused of planning an attack on the Jewish community in northwest England, that they were inspired by the ideas of ISIS “to kill hundreds of innocent people.”
According to Reuters, Walid Al-Saadawi (38 years old) and Ammar Hussein (52 years old) are facing charges of preparing terrorist acts, while Al-Saadawi’s brother, called Bilal (36 years old), is facing charges of not disclosing information about plans for these actions.
The three who appeared at Preston Crown Court pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Judge Mark Wall told jurors that the case was not related to the bloody attack that took place last week on a synagogue in Manchester.
The prosecution says that Walid Al-Saadawi and Hussein “adopted the views of the so-called ISIS organization… and were prepared to risk their lives” in order to become “martyrs.”
Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu said that Walid El Saadawi was arranging to smuggle two assault rifles, an automatic pistol and ammunition into Britain, along with delivering three other weapons and more ammunition, when the authorities arrested him in May 2024.
He added that the two rifles were similar to those used in the 2015 attack in Paris that killed 130 people, which would have “caused untold damage.”
Sando said that Walid Al-Saadawi and Hussein’s plan focused on “monitoring a large gathering of Jews that they could attack” in cooperation with a third man whom they believed was called Farouk.
“In addition, they intended to kill any law enforcement or police personnel who got in their way,” he added.
The prosecution official explained that Bilal Al-Saadawi did not plan to participate in this attack, but he “sympathizes with the views of ISIS,” and that his brother Walid allowed him to use his money to care for his family members after his death.
