Terror accused ‘hero worshipped’ mastermind of 2015 Paris attacks

One of the two men accused of plotting to kill Jewish people in Manchester “hero-worshipped” the terrorist who masterminded the attacks in Paris in 2015 in which 130 people were killed, a court has heard.

Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein, both from Wigan, deny preparing acts of terrorism between December 2013 and May 2024.

It is alleged they “arranged for the purchase and delivery of firearms, conducted reconnaissance and made plans of attack”.

The jury at Preston Crown Court heard the pair’s alleged plan was to get weapons and ammunition ready and identify a mass gathering of Jewish people they could attack but the plot was thwarted by an undercover police operative.

It is alleged that Mr Saadaoui smuggled rifles and ammunition into the UK when he was arrested and was waiting for more to be delivered.

The court heard images of the Manchester Jewish Museum were found on Mr Hussein’s phone, one of the outside of the building and one of the interior.

The prosecution said they planned attacks with a third man called Farouk who they thought shared their extremist views.

But the court heard that Farouk was an undercover operative and through their communication with him the police were able to stop their plans.

Harpreet Sandhu KC, continuing his prosecution opening, told the jury Saadaoui’s Facebook posts praised the actions of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born terrorist who was behind the 2015 attacks in Paris.

Mr Sandhu said: “The sort of firearms Walid Saadaoui had arranged to have smuggled into the UK were the sort of weapons which had been used to kill 130 people and injure hundreds more in Paris.

“Abaaoud’s actions were a source of inspiration for Walid Saadaoui. He wanted to replicate what Abaaoud had done. [He] hero-worshipped that terrorist.”

Earlier Mr Sandhu said Mr Saadaoui used multiple Facebook accounts in false names to praise the Islamic State group (ISIS) and to threaten Jews.

He said: “What Walid Saadaoui posted leaves no room for doubt that [he] embraced Islamic extremism wholeheartedly and that he condoned and encouraged the use of violence in the name of Islam.

“It is against that background of extremism that [he] planned to do what he so enthusiastically approved of, namely killing as many innocent members of the public as he could.”

Mr Sandhu said Mr Saadaoui was “active in spreading the word of ISIS and he encouraged others to spread the word of ISIS”.

The jury was also shown photographs of £74,000 in cash found in a safe buried in Mr Saadaoui’s back garden.

The prosecution told the jury this cash was for his family to use once he had died carrying out an attack.

Mr Saadaoui from Abram, Wigan, was not in the dock to hear the prosecution continue to outline the case against him.

He and Amar Hussein from Hindley, Wigan, deny the charges against them.

Another man, Walid’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, denies failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.