Man accused of planning to shoot Jews praised Paris terror attacks, trial told

A man accused of planning a gun atrocity on a mass gathering of Jews praised the Paris terror attacks which killed 130 people and injured hundreds more as a “great event”, a jury has heard.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, is said to have “hero-worshipped” Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the terrorist who orchestrated the November 2015 gun raids across the French capital including at the Bataclan theatre, and allegedly wanted to emulate him by killing as many Jewish people as he could in the north-west of England.

The prosecution say the plot of Saadaoui and co-defendant Amar Hussein, 52, was stopped from becoming “tragic reality” as they unwittingly laid bare their plans to an undercover operative as Saadoui was arrested in May last year with two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition found in his car boot.

On Thursday, the law enforcement operative – known only as Farouk – told jurors at Preston Crown Court that Saadaoui accepted a Facebook friend request from him on December 13 2013.

Saadoui’s Facebook account was in the name of Liya Ernia with a profile picture of Abaaoud, the court heard.

Farouk said he took on the “persona” of a supporter of the so-called Islamic State in messages in Arabic that followed with Saadaoui.

In one message, Saadaoui said: “May God preserve you. You need to do what he had done. Make him a role model and carry out operations against the Jews and the Crusaders there and hitting them there affects them badly.”

Farouk told the jury he believed that Saadoui was telling him he needed to conduct a similar attack that Abaaoud carried out in France.

Later that month, Saadaoui wrote: “I can use a knife in the operation but this will not be enough to take revenge, only the automatic gun. I want to kill as many posssiible.

“I have an overwhelming anger. I feel sometimes I will go out and kills them with stones. Then I say to myself it will be a waste, I have to do many.”

Farouk replied to him: “Knife is not a solution.

“I have to endeavour the biggest number possible. This is my intention God willing.”

Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC asked the witness: “Was this part of your persona?”

Farouk said: “That’s correct.”

The undercover operative, who gave evidence screened from the defendants and the public gallery, added: “In this example I was mirroring what Walid had said to me previously.

“In order for me to work in this line of work you have to speak a certain way. If you don’t mirror in a certain way then he won’t tell me more about his intention.”

In another message shown to the jury, Saaoud said the Paris terror attacks were “the biggest operation after that of Osama” – said to be a reference to the 9/11 atrocity.

Saaoud went on: “Good, tight organisation. Good execution and above all the enabling of God almighty, may he be glorified.

“It was a great event, brother.”

Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, and Hussein, of no fixed address, deny preparing acts of terrorism between December 13 2023 and May 9 2024.

Walid Saadaoui’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, of Hindley, Wigan, has pleaded not guilty to failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism in the same period.

The trial continues.